WSP 2005

All students who will be on campus during the 2004-2005 academic year must register for WSP. Registration will take place in the early part of fall semester. If you are registered for a senior thesis in the fall which must be continued through Winter Study by departmental rules, you will be registered for your Winter Study Project automatically. In every other case, you must complete registration. First-year students are required to participate in a Winter Study that will take place on campus; they are not allowed to do 99's.

Even if you plan to take a 99, or the instructor of your first choice accepts you during the registration period, there are many things that can happen between registration and the beginning of Winter Study to upset your first choice, so you must list five choices. You should try to make one of your choices a project with a larger enrollment, not that it will guarantee you a project, but it will increase your chances.

If you think your time may be restricted in any way (ski meets, interviews, etc.), clear these restrictions with the instructor before signing up for his/her project.

Remember, for cross-listed projects, you should sign up for the subject you want to appear on your record.

For many beginning language courses, you are required to take the WSP Sustaining Program in addition to your regular project. You will be automatically enrolled in this Sustaining Program, so no one should list this as a choice.

The grade of honors is reserved for outstanding or exceptional work. Individual instructors may specify minimum standards for the grade, but normally, fewer than one out of ten students will qualify. A grade of pass means the student has performed satisfactorily. A grade of perfunctory pass signifies that a student's work has been significantly lacking but is just adequate to deserve a pass.

If you have any questions about a project, see the instructor before you register.

Finally, all work for WSP must be completed and submitted to the instructor no later than Thursday, January 27th. Only the Dean can grant an extension beyond this date.

WINTER STUDY 99'S

Sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to propose "99's," independent projects arranged with faculty sponsors, conducted in lieu of regular Winter Study courses. Perhaps you have encountered an interesting idea in one of your courses which you would like to study in more depth, or you may have an interest not covered in the regular curriculum. In recent years students have undertaken in-depth studies of particular literary works, interned in government offices, assisted in foreign and domestic medical clinics, conducted field work in economics in developing countries, and given performances illustrating the history of American dance. Although some 99's involve travel away from campus, there are many opportunities to pursue intellectual or artistic goals here in Williamstown.

The deadline for submitting the proposals to faculty sponsors is Thursday, 30 September.

Winter Study Course Offerings

AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES

To be taken by students registered for Afro-American Studies 491 who are candidates for honors.

AMERICAN STUDIES

More than just a singer and songwriter, Bob Dylan has become a cultural icon, albeit an elusive one. With reference to recordings, films, biographies, and critical articles, we will examine how Dylan made the leap from latter-day Woody Guthrie to rock star to prophet to perennial Nobel Prize-nominee, and attempt to define the nature of his unique contribution to American culture.
Method of evaluation: 10-page paper or an equivalent project.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:25. Priority given to seniors.
Meeting time: three hours twice a week (Monday/Wednesday mornings); some mandatory film screenings may occur outside of regularly-scheduled class time.
Cost to student: $100.

Seth Rogovoy '82 is a widely-published music critic who has written extensively about Bob Dylan. The author of The Essential Klezmer, his cultural commentary is heard weekly on WAMC's Northeast Public Radio Network.

AMST 11 Berkshire Stories (Same as Comparative Literature 11 and Special 16)

AMST 12 Willa Cather: Art and Ambition (Same as Classics 10, Comparative Literature 13, English 22 and Women's and Gender Studies 10)

AMST 13 Dances With Stereotypes?: American Indians on Film (Same as History 13)

ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

A field placement at Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth in Canaan, New York. Berkshire Farm Center is a residential treatment facility for troubled, at-risk adolescent boys who have been remanded to the Farm by the Family Court. These youths come primarily from lower socio-economic strata, are very ethnically diverse, and hail from both urban and rural areas throughout New York State. The problems that they bring to Berkshire Farm are multiple. These include: the psychological scars of dysfunctional families, including those of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; chemical dependency; juvenile delinquency; inability to function in school settings; and various other issues. Residential treatment is a multi-modal approach that includes anger-replacement training, social skills training, and behavioral modification.
Williams students will commute to Berkshire Farm and work under supervision in one of the following areas: school, cottage life, chemical dependency unit, research, recreation, performing arts, or in individual tutoring.
Requirements: students will keep a journal reflecting on their experiences, and a weekly seminar with the instructor will draw on service learning experience. Students will also be required to submit a final 10-page paper at the end of the course.
Prerequisites: interview with instructor. Enrollment limit: 15-please note: all queries about this course should be directed to the instructor, who can be reached at 518-781-4567 ext. 322.
Cost to student: none.

Lari Brandstein is Director of Volunteer Services at Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth.

The incidence of reported child abuse and neglect has reached epidemic proportions and shows no signs of decreasing. Preventive and prophylactic social programs, court intervention, and legislative mandates have not successfully addressed this crisis. This course allows students to observe the Massachusetts Department of Social Services attorney in courtroom proceedings related to the care and protection of children. Students will have access to Department records for purposes of analysis and will also work with social workers who will provide a clinical perspective on the legal cases under study. The class will meet regularly to discuss court proceedings, assigned readings, and the students' interactions with local human services agencies. Access to an automobile is desirable but not required; some transportation will be provided as part of the course.
Requirements: full participation, a journal, and a 10-page paper to be submitted at the end of the course.
Enrollment limit: 15-please note: all queries about this course must be directed to the instructor, Judge Locke (phone messages may be left at 458-4833).
Meeting time: TBA.
Cost to student: $25 for books and photocopies.

Judith Locke is Associate Justice of the Juvenile Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

This course looks at how Afghanistan has been portrayed in feature films, documentaries, and television news, before and after 9/11. Using these mainstream media representations as a point of departure, the course will go on to consider the theory and practice of media based on the instructor's own experiences shooting, scripting, and editing a documentary film on Afghanistan. The class will look at raw footage shot in Afghanistan, clips and scripts from different stages of the editing process, as well as the final film. Issues to be considered include the verite, of cinema verite, the pros and cons of narration, and the relationship between art and science in documentary production.
Class requirements include attendance at film screenings, readings, and a final project.
Enrollment limit: 12.

Why do people spend their time doing puzzles? Why did riddles exist throughout history and crosswords appeared only in the twentieth century? In literature, how do games and puzzles contribute to the construction or subversion of meaning? What is the metaphorical significance of games and puzzles, in literature and in real life? Is the game for the reader's benefit or is the reader part of the game?
This course will approach puzzles from both sociological and literary perspectives, thus providing students with the opportunity to analyze games and puzzles in literary texts while also assessing their significance in contemporary culture through collaborative ethnography, interviews in and outside of class and analysis of documents. Primary texts will include works by Nabokov, Borges, Calvino and Eco; we will also consult theoretical writings by Caillois, Huizinga, Motte and the OuLiPo group. Exercises will include constructing a taxonomy of puzzles, interviewing puzzle-makers and puzzle-fans, exploring trans-cultural and historical variations in crosswords and riddles, and integrating cultural criticism with an appreciation of the puzzles' role in contemporary culture.
Course requirements: thoughtful and active class participation, several papers and take-home assignments, a group presentation and a final paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:19.
Meeting time: mornings, three days a week.
Cost to student: $75.

ART

ARTH 10 Introduction to African Film (Same as International Studies 10)
CANCELLED!

In recent years video art has become a mainstay in many art museums worldwide, but this has not always been the case. This course will investigate the introduction and proliferation of video art into museums paying close attention to the ways in which they have changed one another. The course will investigate multiple approaches to video making including: performance documentation, found footage, collage, narrative, abstraction, video diary, documentary, and installation, and how each of these different types affects the curatorial process. Through selected readings, screenings and museum visits, the course will address issues of display, the role of the audience, and approaches to collecting. WCMA's Media Field gallery will serve as a test case and students will create proposals for exhibitions in the space.
Evaluation will be based on participation in class discussions and museum visits. Short response papers to readings and screenings and one final
presentation/exhibition proposal. One to two visits to area museums or NYC depending on the exhibitions on view at that time.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12: Preference given to ArtH 101-102 and/or ArtS 288.
Meeting time: two afternoons per week except for field trip days which may require a half to full day.
Cost to student: $60 for reading packets and costs associated with field trips, transportation, museum entrance fees.

Lisa Dorin MA '00 is assistant curator at the Williams College Museum of Art. She is in charge of the programming for Media Field, the museum's gallery dedicated to video and new media art.

ARTH 13 Looking at Contemporary Documentary Photography (Same as English 12)

ARTH 14 Out of the Closet: What Clothes, Costumes and Textiles Reveal in European and American Art (Same as Theatre 14)

Why does the 16-year-old Hapsburg Queen of Poland wear lace AND chain mail in a seventeenth century portrait by Joseph Heintz? This course addresses this paradox and other enigmas of costume in European and American art at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. In paintings, as in life, certain clothes and fabrics can be used as emblems of power and prestige, and they yield both overt and subtle information about the one who wears them. Each week this class will combine two two-hour sessions of slide lectures and on site study of costumes and textiles in paintings and prints at the Clark Art Institute with field trips to local New England collections of historical fashion, such as Historic Deerfield's costume collection. The last field trip of the session, scheduled for January 27th, will be to New York City. For the final project students will "curate" and write up a "virtual installation" of paintings and prints at the Clark with specific emphasis on the iconography of clothing in the artworks.
Requirements: regular attendance in class and field trips. 10 page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 12.
Meeting times: Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons with field trips on Thursdays. Please note that there will be no class on Wednesday the 26th. That class's lecture will be combined with the New York City field trip scheduled for the 27th.
Cost to students: meals on field trips; transportation to and from New York City.

Deborah Kraak is an independent curator specializing in historical textiles and costumes. Her museum background includes Winterthur: An American Country Estate, in Wilmington, Delaware, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She has curated many exhibitions, including the Boston venue of "Hollywood and History: Costume Design in Film.". At present she is preparing "Purple Reign," an exhibition in honor of the 150th anniversary of the discovery of mauve, the first synthetic dye, scheduled for Spring 2006 at the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts.

ARTH 15 The Films of John Waters
A major figure in independent filmmaking for over three decades, John Waters career traverses the no-budget underground and the mainstream, commercial Cineplex. This course will critically examine the history and influence of John Waters’ aesthetic as developed through filmmaking, photography, writing, and performance. Particular attention will be paid to the filmmaker’s fascinations with the mass media, celebrity, kitsch, camp, “bad taste,” and transgressive humor. Specific films we will study include: Pink Flamingos (1972), Female Trouble (1974), Desperate Living (1977), Hairspray (1988), Serial Mom (1994), Pecker (1998), and Cecil B. DeMented (2000). Required work will involve research projects on the critical reception of Waters’ films and a 10- to 12-page final paper. For the final paper, students will have the option of preparing a traditional research paper or a film précis accompanied by a one-scene screenplay. Enrollment limit: 20.
Meeting time: mornings.
CHAVOYA

ARTH 17 Materials of the Artist: Uncovering Fakes and Forgeries (Same as Chemistry 15 and ArtS 17)

ARTH 18 Images of Illness: Photographic Representations in Medicine (Same as Biology 17 and English 18)

ARTS 10 Maskmaking: A Journey into Culture, Myth, and Mystery (Same as Asian Studies 10)

Through this course students will explore the expressive qualities of the monotype, which combines the fluidity of painting with the process of printmaking. We will use a variety of techniques including direct additive and subtractive methods, use of non-traditional tools, direct-trace drawing, and collage. Discussions of the relationship between process/technique and the image's intent will be emphasized. This class will focus primarily on hand printing though a printing press will be available during class time. Students will be encouraged to use daily sketchbooks and active observation to develop a personal visual voice.
Evaluations will be based on growth and development of work, effort, maintaining a daily sketchbook, attendance, and class participation. Assignments will be progressive leading to a final portfolio of prints and critique.
Prerequisites: Drawing I is recommended but not required. Enrollment limit:16.
Meeting time: afternoons, two three-hour classes per week and one local museum trip.
Cost to student: $75-$100.

Sarah Pike is painter who is working in Williamstown, MA. She earned her M.F.A. from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She has taught in Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

This is a studio seminar exploring various approaches to Video Installation Art. Students will investigate and interrogate some of the theoretical, aesthetic, and practical issues of Video Installation. This is primarily a studio workshop, with some screenings and supplemental reading, but most of our effort will be put toward each student making a final piece to install near the end of Winter Study. Students can work individually or in collaborative groups.
Evaluation will be based on participation and assignments.
Prerequisites are either one art course, some experience with video production, or excitement about working with video installation. Enrollment limit:12.
We will meet three mornings a week for 2 hours with field trips and extra lab time scheduled as necessary.
Cost will be minimal ($10-$50), but subject to variation depending on material costs for projects.

DAVID LACHMAN, (Instructor)
CHAVOYA (Sponsor)

David Lachman is an artist who works primarily in installation, but also in photography, video, painting, and drawing. He received his MFA from Northwestern University in Painting in 2000 and also studied Studio Art and Art History as an undergraduate at Oberlin College. His work creates conditions for viewers to explore their own relationship with the world and to see how their ideas and expectations color experience. Often this is done using common objects, experiences, and humor, which grounds the work in everyday life.

Using the nude model as the primary source, students will be introduced to time honored techniques and traditions of western art to draw the human form. The technical aspects of capturing gesture and form of the figure through careful observation will be the departure point. Beyond an investigation of rendering through direct observation students will be encouraged to pursue an individualistic approach to drawing the figure. To foster this, slide lectures will introduce students to a brief history of figure drawing with an emphasis on twentieth century and contemporary masters. Students will engage in drawing exercises meant to suggest the expressive possibilities of the figure. The course is intended to expand students' ideas about how to make a drawing, what a drawing is and what it can be. Students will be evaluated on the portfolio of drawings assembled during the course, attendance, participation and effort. A minimum of three hours per week is expected of each student outside of class to sketch and develop drawings as part of their class portfolios.
Prerequisites: ArtS 100. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: Monday and Wednesday afternoons; two three hour sessions.
Cost to student: approximately $75 for materials and model fees.

Paul Chojnowski is an artist living in the Berkshires. His work has been distinguished by his use of non traditional tools and unusual media. Over the last twelve years solo exhibitions of his pictures have been mounted in New York, Atlanta, Portland, Chicago and Aspen.

The course is designed to introduce students to studio/view cameras, to processing the sheet-film negatives made in them, and to making contact and projection prints. Studio exercises will include careful analysis of camera movements to teach their use, and a consideration of lighting techniques; dark room exercises will include the tray development of sheet film, determination of effective film speed, and control of contrast through development time. The subject matter of the photographs produced in the course will not be prescribed; it is limited only by the participants' imagination and the weather in January. Working with subjects of their own choosing, students will be instructed in the principles of traditional photographic image making by producing large-format negatives and translating them into effective black-and-white prints in 4x5 and 8x10 formats.
Each student will be expected to make exhibition-quality prints, which may be enlargements or contact prints from 4x5 negatives, or contract prints from 8x10 negatives. The prints will be exhibited in a group show at the end of Winter Study.
Evaluation will be based on commitment to the course, participation in discussion sessions, and the quality of the prints.
No prerequisites (although camera and darkroom experience a plus). Enrollment limit:10.
Meeting time: mornings; there will be six hours weekly for lectures, demonstrations and crits. At least 20 hours weekly in the darkroom are expected, under the supervision of a photo technician.
Cost to student: $170 lab fee.

Ralph Lieberman is an art historian and photographer who lives in Williamstown. He has a Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts. His photographs have appeared in many publications and are to be found in major American and European art historical study collections.

This course will be an introduction to making art through systemic procedures that allow chance elements to surface in the work. Combining specific rules with opportunities for accidents and visual play, this approach has its roots in many fields, including systems art of the 1970's, where following the procedure was often more important than the finished product, and Surrealist parlor games that incorporated nonsequiters, dreams, and random elements. Slide presentations will include 70's work by Sol Lewitt, John Cage, Roman Opalka, Jennifer Bartlett, as well as other artists currently working in similar ways. Media will include drawing, simple printmaking techniques (like rubber stamps), and some less traditional materials (yarn, food, rope, etc.). While some of the projects will be individual works, others will be collaborations. For example, the entire class may work on a revised version of the Exquisite Corpse, where artists construct figures without seeing each other's work. Or each student may be asked to create compositions based upon random elements (coins thrown onto canvas, names in the phone book, dictionary definitions), enacting a kind of art game.
Evaluation will be based on the inventiveness and quality of the work, effort, completion of all assignments, participation in critiques, and attendance.
We will meet twice a week for three hours. Students are expected to work outside of class to finish their assignments.
No prerequisites, although ArtS 100 is recommended. Enrollment limit:12. Preference is given to juniors, seniors, and sophomores, in that order.
Meeting times: Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 am-12:50 pm
Lab fee: $50 for basic materials. Depending upon the choice of assignments, students may have to purchase individual supplies.

ARTS 17 Materials of the Artist: Uncovering Fakes and Forgeries (Same as Chemistry 15 and ArtH 17)

The city of Oaxaca is a unique place where age-old dialects, traditional art practices and religious customs coexist side by side with contemporary life. Living and studying in Oaxaca, Mexico will provide students with the opportunity to experience the richness of culture that Oaxaca has to offer. This course is designed as an exploration of Mexican culture and is centered on the teaching and enhancement of Spanish, as well as, daily practical studio components in the making of art. Specifically, it will be organized with morning Spanish classes, afternoon art studio classes, (focusing on drawing, sculpture and collage), as well as frequent excursions to view museums, artist's studios, archaeological sites, galleries and cinema. The hope is, that immersion into a culture so vastly different from our own can have a profound and lasting effect on one's perspective with regards to life, culture and art. Students will live with a Mexican family in Oaxaca, providing a greater opportunity to practice Spanish and gain a deeper understanding of Mexican life.
Prerequisites : at least one introductory course in Spanish and ArtS 100 or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit : 12.
Cost to student -approximately $2, 200.
Itinerary:
Meet in Williamstown prior to Winter Study to provide information and prepare students about what to expect and what to bring.
Spend Winter study period in Oaxaca, creating art, enhancing Spanish abilities and exploring and discussing Mexican culture.

Paulina Salas-Schoofield is resident of Oaxaca, Mexico. During the past 8 years she has taught courses on Mexican Culture and Spanish Language at the Language Centre of the Benito Juarez University and Instituto Cultural Oaxaca. Paulina Salas-Schoofield studied art history in Mexico City and film studies at Edinburgh University.

ASIAN STUDIES

ASST 10 Maskmaking: A Journey into Culture, Myth, and Mystery (Same as ArtS 10)

This is a course in creating professional-quality performance masks. To identify characters for our masks, we shall explore Chinese mythology, folktales, and songs, with particular emphasis on material that contains the universal symbolism that occurs worldwide in many different cultures and springs directly from the relationship between human nature and Nature. Required activities: three 2-hour afternoon class meetings per week, background readings, and a final project consisting of the creation of one or more masks and a performance on the final day of Winter Study (e.g., a story-play, narrative, song with instrumental back-up, dance, or a combination of these). Evaluation will be based on attendance, class participation, and the final project.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for materials and a Xerox packet.

Ellen Graf is a poet and artist who designs custom masks for dance, theatre, and spiritual ceremonies. Her specialty is the animal realm and masks honoring forces of nature as aspects of the divine. She has served as a teacher trainer in poetry at the Institute of the Arts in Education, SUNY Albany and has taught maskmaking in the public schools in the Albany area. She resides on a wilderness farm in Cropseyville, New York.

ASST 17 Taiwan, the U.S., and International Law (Same as Political Science 17)

Students registered for Chinese 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Chinese Sustaining Program.
Requirements: regular attendance and active class participation.
Prerequisites: Chinese 101.
Meeting time: mornings; Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 9-9:50 a.m.
Cost to student: one Xerox packet.

Interested in learning first-hand about Chinese and Taiwanese culture and becoming acquainted with the so-called Taiwan (economic and political) "miracle"? Want to improve your knowledge of Mandarin, the world's most widely spoken language? Then join us on this 24-day study tour to Taiwan, Republic of China. We'll spend the first two and a half weeks in Taipei, the capital city, where three hours of Mandarin language classes will be scheduled each morning. After class each day, we'll meet as a group for lunch and discussion. Visits to cultural and economic sites of interest will be scheduled for some afternoons and Saturdays, with other afternoons, evenings, and Sundays free for self-study and individual exploration of the city. During the last week, we'll conduct a seven-day tour of central and southern Taiwan. Two orientation sessions will be conducted on campus in the fall to help prepare participants for their experience. Requirements: Satisfactory completion of the language course and active participation in the other scheduled activities.
Prerequisite: Chinese 101 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limit:15.
Cost to student: $2000. (Includes round-trip air fare from New York City, tuition, textbooks, accommodations, weekday lunches, local excursions, and tour of central and southern Taiwan; does not include breakfasts, dinners, and weekend lunches while in Taipei, estimated at $250, or incidental expenses. Participants should note that, to enhance learning and to stay within budget, accommodations and most meals will be local student-not foreign tourist-standard.)

Students registered for Japanese 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Japanese Sustaining Program.
Requirements: regular attendance and active class participation.
Prerequisites: Japanese 101.
Meeting time: mornings; Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 9-9:50a.m.
Cost to student: one Xerox packet.

Read or Die is the title of a popular Japanese animated series about secret agents in the employ of the world's great libraries. But what does it mean to read in an age and culture so dominated by visual media? This class is an introduction to the serious study of Japanese animation, or anime, and the challenges it poses to traditional ways of reading literature and film. We will screen a number of animated Japanese feature films and television series, and look at related media like printed comics (manga). We will also read the work of literature and media scholars who have tried to come to terms with manga and anime, but one of the questions we will ask is whether written criticism can ever effectively grapple with this material. To test this, one option for the final project will be a visual presentation instead of a written paper: a storyboard, comic, animation, film, etc. that comments on the course material in a sophisticated and illuminating way. Required activities: three 2-hour morning class meetings per week and two 2.5-hour afternoon screenings per week, plus self-scheduled viewings, readings, and a 10-page paper or visual project. Evaluation will be based on attendance, participation, and a final project.
No prerequisites. All material is translated or subtitled in English. Enrollment limit:15. Preference given to students with a strong interest in literature and film.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for books.

ASTRONOMY

ASTR 12 NASA and the Space Program (Same as Leadership Studies 12 and History of Science 12)

NASA's space program has had many successes, but the choice between human and robotic spaceflight is difficult and significant. We shall study several of NASA's most interesting programs, including both the beautiful images and the drama behind the scenes. The robotic programs include the Hubble Space Telescope, the Galileo spacecraft at Jupiter, the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn, and Mars rovers. The human spaceflight programs include the Apollo missions and their motivations, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. We will also consider future plans for robotic and human exploration of the Moon and Mars. We will consider the impact of leadership decisions of presidents, NASA Administrators, directors of institutes for NASA's Great Observatories (Space Telescope Science Institute, Chandra X-ray Center, Spitzer Science Institute) and others. A field trip will include meetings with scientific leaders and Washington-area astronomical sites.
Meets one to three mornings a week for lectures and discussions plus the field trip. Grading will be on the basis of attendance, participation, and a 10-page paper and presentation describing a topic of choice.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 12.This WSP is a cluster course in the program of Leadership Studies and counts as one of the two prerequisites to LEAD 402 Topics in Leadership.
Meetings: mornings.

ASTR 13 Image Processing in Science and Medicine (Same as Computer Science 13)

Images have long been fundamental in the sciences. With the discovery of x-rays this became true in medicine as well. Digital imaging has become a staple throughout our society, but the nature and processing of a scientific image differs from that of an image obtained for artistic or commercial purposes. This course will cover the principles and practice of image processing as applied to the sciences and medicine, particularly astronomy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We will discuss how images are acquired, including transformations from raw data to meaningful images. We will cover the properties of images, their generalization to dimensions other than two, and fundamental operations that may be applied to enhance features or extract particular kinds of information. Students will obtain their own images using one or more of the following: an MRI scanner, an astronomical telescope, or an electron microscope.
We will meet three times a week for two-hour morning sessions, and there will be weekly assignments. Other required activities include a field trip (~9AM to 5PM) to a medical MRI facility, a night (7PM to 10PM) of observing on the Hopkins Observatory .6-m telescope, and a visit to the Williams electron microscope facility. Students will learn to use one or more image processing software packages, and will write their own software in Java.
Evaluation of student performance will be based on attendance, weekly assignments, and a final project. The final project will be presented both in written form and as an oral presentation at a simulated scientific conference.
The prerequisites for this course are Mathematics 105 or 106 (or equivalent taken elsewhere) and some experience in any programming language. Enrollment limit: 10.
Cost to student: approximately $130 for the book.

Steven Souza is the Observatory Supervisor and an instructor in the Astronomy Department.

ASTROPHYSICS

BIOLOGY

Students will undertake an independent project to investigate a topic of their choice using the transmission and scanning electron microscopes. They will do their own sample preparation, operate the two electron microscopes, and take micrographs of relevant structures. Class time will give a brief overview of the theory and operation of the microscopes and microtomes. In addition, students will learn how to develop and print their film from the TEM, and learn how to manipulate the digital images from the SEM in Adobe Photoshop. (Do you want your erythrocytes red or blue?) There will be brief reading assignments, a guest speaker and a 10-page paper with 8 well focused micrographs required. The lab is scheduled to receive a new SEM this summer that will allow observation of wet samples as well as conventional dried samples , and will extend the limits of research potential for the scope.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:8. No preference given.
Meeting time: afternoons. Class will meet for two hours, three times week, plus scope time.
Cost to student: $40 for text and readings.

Nancy Piatcyc received her B.S. in Biology from Tufts University. She attended the school of Electron Microscopy in Albany, NY. She is a trained electron microscopist who operates and maintains the electron microscope facility at Williams.

BIOL 11 Identifying Wildlife Tracks and Sign (Same as Environmental Studies 11)

Learning to understand wildlife tracks and sign will not only enable you to determine who your wild neighbors are, it can open up a view of their lives and interactions that will enrich your perception of the landscape and your place in it. This course is an intensive introduction to tracking mammals in Massachusetts. We will cover clear print characteristics, track patterns and the gaits they represent. We will also examine a broad range of other wildlife sign such as browse, scat, scent posts, etc. Meetings will be held in the field (weather permitting) and will include extensive off-trail hiking. One session will be spent indoors viewing a video on quadruped locomotion, and looking at slides. Participants will be expected to read Tracking and the Art of Seeing by Paul Rezendes.
Evaluation will be based on the student's field journal and a ten-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15. Preference given to seniors, Biology majors and Environmental Studies concentrators.
Meeting time: all day (6 hrs) M,T,W.
Cost to student: $20. Student will also need access to snowshoes, in conditions require. Warm clothing and footwear is essential.

John McCarter has been tracking wildlife for more than twenty years and is among the region's leading authorities on animal tracks and sign. He has taught tracking workshops for many organizations, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, Appalachian Mountain Club and Massachusetts Audubon Society, as well as school groups from K through college.

This is a studio art class that will approach rendering the image from a technical and philosophical orientation. Using gesture drawing and watercolor, students will focus on the concepts of motion and stimulus in the figure as well as in botanical forms. Throughout the term students will be expected to keep a journal (written, drawn and painted) that investigates motion, stimulus, and the passage of time through daily observation. We will also view and discuss artworks at Williams College Museum of Art that respond to the human experience of motion and time. The final project will be a synthesis of what has been observed and internalized. Students will be expected to produce a series of works that reveal their personal responses to the process of moving through life. Some themes might be coming of age, aging, effects of stimuli, or nostalgia. Students will be evaluated based on the final project, depth and detail of journal, and verbal participation in group critiques and discussions.
Prerequisite: Drawing 101 (or equivalent drawing experience. Enrollment limit: 12.
Meeting time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Cost to student: $75.

Julia Morgan is a local artist who works in the education department of the Williams College Museum of Art. She received her B.A. in Studio Art from Mt Holyoke College and studied at
the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence, France.

BIOL 17 Images of Illness: Photographic Representations in Medicine (Same as ArtH 18 and English 18)

BIOL 18 Williams in North Adams: The Entrepreneurship of Shitake (Same as Economics 18, Environmental Studies 18 and Philosophy 18)

An experimental research project will be carried out under the supervision of the Biology Department. It is expected that the student will spend 20 hours per week in the lab at a minimum, and a 10-page written report is required. This experience is intended for, but not limited to, first-year students and sophomores, and requires the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: Biology 101. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

CHEMISTRY

In 1973 the democratically elected socialist Salvador Allende's presidential tenure ended in a bloody coup and Allende's death. Recently the release of 24,000 declassified documents allow authors to retell the history of the US foreign policy in Chile from the 1960s to early 1970s. In the first part of the course we explore declassified documents on the CIA's covert operations in Chile through The Pinochet File by P. Kornbluh. Next, groups of students select a period of time between 1950 and 1974 and look at newspapers, like the New York Times and the Washington Post, to identify the main events occurring at that time. Finally, each group considers a place in the American continent, a particular year, and an event that could be linked to possible activity by any US agency. What kind of information could be found in archives of declassified documents in this place and time? For example, the late sixties are associated with student activities around the world, and given the extensive activity in Chile by the CIA, we would also examine Mexico City, October 12 of 1968. The "Plaza de las Tres Culturas" massacre in Mexico City may also be linked to possible covert CIA operations.
Evaluation is based on three short presentations related to readings and assignments, a paper on a topic of personal interest, and participation in class discussions.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 30.
Meeting time: afternoons; three times per week with occasional extra meetings for special projects and workshops.
Cost to student: $75 for books.

This course focuses primarily on the chemical nature of the constituents of chocolate and on the physical nature of the process of making chocolate. In the first week we study the structures, properties, and effects of the principal components. In the second week each student presents a 30-40 minute overview of one of the processes involved in converting cacao beans to finished products. The third week involves discussions with guest speakers on the history, ethnobotany, and gastronomy of chocolate. We also visit a Berkshire County shop to see the production of candies. There is a lecture demonstration by a master chocolatier, screening of a feature film, Like Water for Chocolate (1992) or Chocolat (2000), and laboratory experiments in which instrumental techniques are applied to the analysis of chocolate (differential scanning calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance). In the final week students give oral reports on topics of their choice.
Evaluation is based upon class participation presentations, and a final 10-page paper.
Prerequisites: Chemistry 251. Enrollment limit:12.
Meeting time: mornings; four two-hour sessions per week.
Cost to student: $10 for reading materials.

J. Hodge Markgraf, Professor of Chemistry emeritus, taught organic chemistry at Williams for four decades. He has previously taught a WSP course on combinatorial chemistry. In 2003-2004 he taught Chemistry 251 and 346.

A course designed to prepare students for the Massachusetts EMT exam and to provide training to become certified as an Emergency Medical Technician. The course teaches the new national standard curriculum which makes reciprocity with many other states possible. This is a time-intensive course involving approximately 130 hours of class time plus optional emergency room observation and ambulance work. Students learn, among other skills, basic life support techniques, patient assessment techniques, defibrillation, how to use an epi-pen, safe transportation and immobilization skills, as well as the treatment of various medical emergencies including shock, bleeding, soft-tissue injuries, and child birth. In order to reduce the number of class meetings required during Winter Study Period, the course holds a few meetings beginning in the fall semester. These class meetings, which are mandatory, with the following schedule: 30 October (orientation), 31 October, 13 November, 14 November, and 11 December. Any questions regarding this course should be directed to the instructor, Kevin Garvey, via email: pece@the-spa.com.
Evaluation is based on class participation and performance on class exams, quizzes and practical exercises.
Prerequisite: It is recommended that students have American Heart Association Level C BLS Provider CPR Cards or American Red Cross BLS provider CPR cards before entering the EMT Class. A CPR class will be offered in October for those students wishing to take the EMT class who don't already have CPR cards. Enrollment limit:24.
Meeting time: mornings and afternoons; schedule TBA in October.
Cost to student: $350/student plus approximately $75 for textbook.

Kevin Garvey is a Massachusetts state and nationally approved EMT-I (Intermediate) and an EMT-IC (Instructor/Coordinator). He had been involved with Emergency Medical Services for 15-20 years. Mr. Garvey currently works for Baystate Health Systems as an RN (registered nurse) and EMT-I and also works as an EMT-I for Village Ambulance in Williamstown. Mr. Garvey is also an EMT training instructor at Greenfield Community College.

CHEM 15 Materials of the Artist: Uncovering Fakes and Forgeries (Same as ArtH 17 and ArtS 17)

Many artists' materials (in the form of support, pigments, coatings, and binding media) existed in very specific times throughout history. Knowing this, we can create a timeline and begin to date art objects by examining their material and how each object was manufactured. In this class, we choose an object of questionable authenticity and immerse ourselves in it. For example, a painting of questionable authenticity will have the pigments analyzed, the media analyzed, an x-ray will be taken, showing the paint strokes and method of application. In some cases, a technique called an infrared reflectography will be utilized to view the underdrawing -the artist (or forgers) original sketches. Visual examinations combined with sophisticated analytical instrumentation will be used to identify the materials of the object and its method of manufacture. Instruments may include: x-ray fluorescence analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, x-ray diffraction, gas chromatography, and scanning electron microscope. All classes will be held at either the Williamstown Conservation Center under the direction of the analytical chemist and conservator, or in the Bronfman Science Center.
Evaluation is based upon class participation and a 10-page final paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings; twice a week for three hours and two hours/person/week beyond class time.
Cost to student: $20 for reading materials.

Kate Duffy is Department Head of Analytical Services at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center.

This course provides an introduction to both a theoretical consideration of the glassy state of matter and the practical manipulation of glass. We do flameworking with hand torches for at least 12 hours per week. While no previous experience is required, students with patience, good hand-eye coordination, and creative imagination will find the course most rewarding. The class is open to both artistically and scientifically oriented students.
Evaluation is based on class participation, exhibition of glass projects, a 10-page paper, and a presentation to the class.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:8. Preference is given to juniors, sophomores, and those who express the most interest and enthusiasm by early e-mail to Professor Thoman.
Meeting time: 9:00 a.m. to noon, five days per week.
Cost to student: $75 for supplies.

An independent experimental project in biochemistry is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in biochemistry. Biochemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the molecular details of living systems including the interaction of biologically important molecules. In the Chemistry Department, studies are underway to investigate the structure/function relationship of proteins, the interaction between proteins and RNA and DNA, DNA structure and repair, and the molecular basis of gene regulation.
A 10-page written report is required.
Prerequisite: variable, depending on the project (at least CHEM 151) and permission of the Department. Since projects involve work in faculty research labs, interested students must consult with one or more of the faculty instructors listed below and with the Department Chair before electing this course. Non-science majors are invited to participate. Enrollment limited to space in faculty research lab.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

CHEM 19 Introduction to Research in Environmental Science (Same as Environmental Studies 19)

An independent experimental project in environmental science is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in environmental science. Current research projects include studies of atmospheric chemistry related to global warming and acid deposition, heavy metals in the local environment, and further development of laboratory techniques for ENVI 102 (Introduction to Environmental Science).
A 10-page written report is required.
Prerequisite: a one-semester science course and permission of the Department. Since projects involve work in faculty research labs, interested students must consult with one or more of the faculty instructors listed below and with the Department Chair before electing this course. Non-science majors are invited to participate. Enrollment limited to space in faculty research lab.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

An independent experimental project in inorganic chemistry is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in inorganic chemistry. Opportunities for research in inorganic chemistry at Williams include the study of transition metals in biological systems (enzymes, proteins), and as building blocks for new materials with interesting electronic (magnetic, conducting) and optical properties. Students working in this area will gain expertise in the synthesis of new compounds and their characterization by modern spectroscopic techniques.
A 10-page written report is required.
Prerequisite: variable, depending on the project (at least CHEM 101) and permission of the Department. Since projects involve work in faculty research labs, interested students must consult with one or more of the faculty instructors listed below and with the Department Chair before electing this course. Non-science majors are invited to participate. Enrollment limited to space in faculty research labs.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

An independent experimental project in organic chemistry is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in organic chemistry. One representative project involves isolation of the bioactive constituents of Southeast Asian dart poisons from their natural sources and the elucidation of their three-dimensional structures. Another line of investigation probes new and efficient methods for the creation of molecules of medicinal interest. Some targets include the kavalactones-the active principles of the herbal extract KAVA KAVA which is promoted as an alternative anti-anxiety remedy, and octalactin A-an interesting 8-membered ring compound isolated from marine microorganisms that has shown significant toxicity toward human cancer cells.
A 10-page written report is required.
Prerequisite: variable, depending on the project (at least CHEM 151) and permission of the Department. Since projects involve work in faculty research labs, interested students must consult with one or more of the faculty instructors listed below and with the Department Chair before electing this course. Non-science majors are invited to participate. Enrollment limited to space in faculty research labs.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

An independent experimental project in physical chemistry is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in physical chemistry. Current research projects in the Department include computer modeling of non-linear, chaotic chemical and biochemical systems, molecular modeling of hydrofluorocarbons, laser spectroscopy of chlorofluorocarbon substitutes, and experimental studies of the glass transition.
A 10-page written report is required.
Prerequisite: variable, depending on the project (at least CHEM 151) and permission of the Department. Since projects involve work in faculty research labs, interested students must consult with one or more of the faculty instructors listed below and with the Department Chair before electing this course. Non-science majors are invited to participate. Enrollment limited to space in faculty research labs.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

CHEM 25 Oriental Rugs: "Rugs that fly, rugs that crash, rugs that never leave the ground" (Same as ArtH 25)

People, primarily women, have been weaving rugs for thousands of years, and rugs have played a central role in the culture and commerce of many societies. This course explores the world of oriental rugs, with an emphasis on the history, aesthetics, and economics of these extraordinary weavings, and the dyestuffs used in their production. The course is divided between classes in Williamstown for the first part of Winter Study, and a trip to Turkey, one of the great rug weaving centers of the world, for the second part. We discuss the origins and ethnography of oriental rug weaving and designs, the methods by which rugs are made, and the tactile and visual characteristics that make a rug great-"one that flies"-from merely good-"one that crashes or perhaps never takes off"! We discuss as well the re-introduction of natural dyes into rug weaving about 25 years ago, and the economics of the rug trade, a world in which "caveat emptor" rules with a vengeance. We examine what factors determine the cost of making new rugs, what determines the values of "collectable rugs", the role of bargaining in the market for rugs, and the methods that some rug dealers use to divide the gains when they collude at auctions.
After a series of classes here in Williamstown and the examination of rugs and textiles from several Massachusetts collections, the class proceeds to Turkey for about two weeks in Istanbul, Konya (Central Anatolia), and the vicinity of Bergama (Western Anatolia). In Istanbul, we visit the well-known cultural monuments of the Golden Horn, and see classical rugs in two museums, accompanied by Turkish academic experts. We also see the market up close in the Grand Bazaar, and elsewhere in Sultanahmet. Traveling to Konya, we visit museums, and see production of kilims (flatwoven rugs) and felt rugs. In Bergama, we visit the original natural dye projects-which started a revolution in new rug production. We then visit at least one repair workshop in Istanbul, and possibly also Sultanhami (near Aksaray, in Central Anatolia, east of Konya), and discuss conservation issues. There may be an opportunity for dye analysis in the lab of Dr. Harald Bohmer of Maramara University in Istanbul, known with others at Marmara for helping to revive the art of weaving in Turkey with natural dyes.
Evaluation will be based on classroom discussion, one 3 -5 page paper discussing an individual rugs or group of rugs from an aesthetic perspective (due at the end of the trip), and a practicum on rug structure and provenance conducted in Turkey.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:10. Placement is through interview prior to registration for the course.
Meeting time: several mornings and some afternoons for extensive meetings during the first part of Winter Study before traveling to Turkey for the second part of Winter Study.
Cost to student: approximately $150 per student for books and local travel, and about $2,250 for travel to, and within, Turkey.

Nicholas H. Wright '57 has been a dealer and collector of oriental rugs since 1968.

An introduction to the science, history, and practice of brewing beer. This course aims to supply the general chemical concepts and hands-on technical experience necessary to enable creative brewing and an appreciation of diverse beer styles. Lecture topics include the biochemistry of yeast, sanitary practices, analytical methods, malt types and preparation, extract vs. full-grain brewing, hops, water chemistry, the chemistry of off-flavors, and beer judging. In the lab, students progress from brewing a commercially available extract kit to producing a full-grain brew of their own original recipe.
Evaluation is based on class/lab participation, a 10-page paper, and a final presentation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limited to 8 students who are at least 21 years in age.
Meeting time: mornings; three days a week (longer on lab days) and an all-day field trip.
Cost to student: approximately $100 for supplies and equipment.

CLASSICS

CLAS 10 Willa Cather: Art and Ambition (Same as American Studies 12, Comparative Literature 13, English 22 and Women's and Gender Studies 10)

CLAS 12 Murder in Mesopotamia: Legal Traditions of the Ancient Near East (Same as Jewish Studies 12 and Legal Studies 12)

Modern notions of law and justice have many of their roots in the Bible, which in turn had its roots in the traditions of the ancient Near East. The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (written c. 1800 BCE) includes both concepts (such as "an eye for an eye") and specific laws (such as the law of the goring ox) that were written into the Old Testament 1000 years later. In this Winter Study session, we will use the Code of Hammurabi as a starting point for considering such offenses as manslaughter, assault, rape, adultery, fraud and medical malpractice. Through analysis of formal law codes, contracts and case records, we will learn about principles of personal responsibility and blood guilt, the status of women and slaves in patriarchal societies, and royal and divine roles in the pursuit of justice.
Requirements: three 3- to 4-page papers, two to be presented to the class as well as turned in, and one final paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 12.
Meeting time: mornings, Mon-Wed-Fri.
Cost to student: approximately $30.

Sally Moren Freedman received her Ph.D. in Assyriology in 1977 from the University of Pennsylvania and continued at the university as a research associate in the Babylonian section of the University Museum while lecturing in the Oriental Studies Department. She went on to teach Old Testament Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary.

COGNITIVE SCIENCE

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

COMP 10 Living by Words: Surviving and Thriving in the Art and Sport of Rhetoric (Same as English 10, Leadership Studies 13, and Special 13)

Whether dealing in the realms of public life, commerce, or academe, the speaker who can clearly and cogently define or defend a policy, product, or theoretical position is usually the most successful. Depending on the venue and the aim of the speaker, the words might be artful and poetic, cajoling and competitive, formally read from the page or seemingly delivered impromptu. This course will briefly examine some of the classic styles of oratory from Ancient Greece to Madison Avenue. Students will make visits to a variety of venues that employ a special style of professional discourse (TV and radio stations, the Albany and Boston state houses) and learn a range of methods and techniques for practicing the basics of effective spoken communication. The practical intent of the course is for participants to develop confident, cogent, and dynamic presentation styles, to reinforce tight organizational focus and relaxed, natural delivery, and to develop creative approaches to speaking in front of a group. The course will guide participants through the presentation process from conception, outlining, and devising the message, to development of visual aids, message delivery, and handling question and answer sessions. Methods employed will include vigorous pursuit of improvisational theater techniques and vocal training. Participants will deliver brief presentations at each session and receive intensive personal coaching and a videotaped record of their personal progress. The final project will be a presentation at a public forum.
Evaluation will be based on active participation in the class, a written evaluation of a public presentation the student has attended, and successful completion of mini-presentations during Winter Study and the final presentation at the end of term.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12.
Meeting time: mornings; 3 two-hour sessions per week and 2-3 field trips outside of Williamstown.
Cost to student: $25-45 for course materials.

Peter Bubriski has been coaching leaders in communication skills for twelve years. A founding partner of the Cambridge-based communications consulting firm of B&B Associates, where he has been designing and leading workshops in presentation skills since 1991, he also leads courses in Coaching, Mentoring, and Collaborative Communication at Pfizer, Inc., Morgan Stanley, and MIT. He has taught at The Boston Conservatory, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Executive MBA Program, and he lectures regularly at Boston University's School of Management. He is also a professional actor with twenty years of credits in theater, film, and television ranging from ABC's All My Children and The King and I with Yul Brynner to independent films with Katharine Ross and Tyne Daly and documentary narration with PBS.

COMP 12 Paris-Dakar: Stories of Sports Cars and Much More... (Same as International Studies 12 and French 12)

COMP 13 Willa Cather: Art and Ambition (Same as American Studies 12, Classics 10, English 22 and Women's and Gender Studies 10)

COMPUTER SCIENCE

This course serves as a guided tour of the Perl programming language. The course is designed for individuals who understand basic program development techniques as discussed in an introductory programming course (Computer Science 134 or equivalent), but who wish to become familiar with a language that may be particularly useful for the manipulation of text and scientific data. By the end of this course, students will have developed a basic proficiency in the Perl programming language.
Evaluation will be based on several programming assignments due throughout the term. While none of the projects in the course will be particularly large, the successful student will develop a tool chest, which will extend their computing "effectiveness" in their particular field of science.
Prerequisites: Computer Science 134 or equivalent programming experience. Enrollment limit:20.
Meeting time: three or four mornings per week with afternoon labs.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for texts.

Introduction to computer hardware and the methods used to construct a fully working system. Students will end up having built a Windows or Mac compatible computer from the component parts. There will be in-depth study of the purpose of each part and of the different options available when purchasing. Research will include finding good places to acquire the parts, most likely online, and will require deciphering and explaining the jargon used. The students will have the choice of purchasing their own parts and ending up with their own computer which they can take home, or to use existing spare parts from the OIT basement to end up with a computer suitable for donation off campus or to use as a campus email station. The class will be in a lab with the hardware, spare parts and tools for assembly present. A final step will be the installation of an operating system and finding or downloading appropriate drivers for the hardware.
Evaluation will be based on completion of a working system, and a paper on any of wide range of topics having to do with technologies used in their computer's design.
No prerequisites. The class will be aimed at the hardware novice. Enrollment limit:20.
Meeting time: three afternoons per week for two hours, with some work expected outside of class.
Cost to students: approximately $30 for textbooks. No other costs for students unless they choose to build their own system to take home.

Seth Rogers is Associate Director of Desktop Systems at the Office of Information Technology.

CSCI 14 LEGO Robot Engineering
In this course, students will explore the theory and practice behind the construction of autonomous mechanical robots. Working in small teams, students will construct and program robots constructed from LEGO construction kits, a battery powered microprocessor control board, assorted sensors and motors. Control programs will be written in a subset of the C programming language. The majority of class time will be spent in the laboratory. Students will be expected to complete appropriate structured exercises to develop basic skills in robot construction and programming. By the conclusion of the course, each team will be required to construct a robot designed to perform a pre-determined task such as obstacle avoidance, maze navigation, etc.
Each teams project goals will be selected with both the interests and prior backgrounds of the team members in mind. Each team will be required to give a brief presentation describing their final project (including a demonstration of their robot's performance) and to submit a written report summarizing the design process.
Previous experience with programming is helpful but not required. Enrollment limit 15. Preference will be based on class year (favoring upperclass students) and the desire to form working groups with similar levels of background knowledge.
Meeting time: three mornings per week for two hours, with some additional laboratory work expected outside of class hours.
Cost: textbook.
Instructor: Murtagh

CONTRACT MAJOR

ECONOMICS

Taxes affect many individual and business decisions, especially decisions regarding saving and investment. This course provides a comprehensive framework for exploring how taxes affect such decisions. We will apply this framework to a series of problems: 1) household saving decisions; 2) financing decisions of firms; 3) financing and location decisions of multinational corporations and 4) the role of tax considerations in financial innovation. In addition to providing a framework for analyzing how taxes affect business strategy, the course will also provide some basic information on how the U.S. tax system works, especially with respect to business decisions. Several class sessions will be devoted to discussions of case studies of specific problems.
Evaluation will be based on several short case write-ups and assignments , participation, especially in case discussions, and a final 10-page paper.
No prior knowledge of the tax system is assumed in the course. Enrollment limit: 15. Preference given to economics majors.
Meeting time: mornings, 10-noon.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for books and reading materials.

This course uses popular films as an object of analysis to study various economic themes. Topics include growth of capitalism, consumerism, industrialization, corruption, unemployment, underdevelopment and poverty. Students will be first introduced to the economic problem, and then a relevant film will be used as a descriptive as well as analytical tool to look at the problem. Possible films that will be viewed include: Modern Times, Office Space (industrial culture, mechanization); Man in the White Suit (market powers, industry cartels); Dr. Strangelove (intolerable cruelty, game theory); Mahanagar, Aagantuk, Pratifvandi (underdevelopment, poverty); The Grapes of Wrath (the Depression, migration).
Requirements: weekly critical essays on the various films/themes covered in the class.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 30.
Meeting time: afternoon, twice a week for three hours each session.
Cost to student: approximately $20 for photocopied course materials.

This course examines why financial markets and institutions fail in many developing countries. We study the information asymmetries and enforcement problems that make banks reluctant to finance the poor. We then analyze how microfinance institutions have been able to overcome these difficulties using group lending. Finally we ask if subsidizing small loans is an appropriate anti-poverty intervention. In general, this class will emphasize to the economics of incentives. This course is intended for CDE students only.
Evaluation will be based on class participation and a 10-page final paper. There is the possibility of occasional visits by microfinance policy-makers/practitioners.
Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings, 3 days a week.
Cost to student: $40 for materials.

"To argue that banking cannot be done with the poor because they do not have collateral is the same as arguing that people cannot fly because they do not have wings." (Quote from Mohammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank). The Grameen Bank is arguably one of the most successful development organizations in the world. Despite making small uncollateralized loans, it has very high repayment rates. Grameen's borrowers are predominantly landless women. Its lending methods have been replicated in many countries including the US. This course will examine the facts and the myths behind Grameen and the microcredit movement. We shall also study village savings associations and the incentive problems with poverty reduction. This course will feature several documentary films and an occasional visiting speaker (microcredit practitioner).
Evaluations will be based on class participation and presentations.
No prerequisites: Enrollment limit:15. If overenrolled, there will be a lottery to decide who gets in.
Meeting time: afternoons, two three-hour sessions per week.
Cost to student: $40 for materials.

The project will examine the theoretical and practical aspects of financial accounting. Although the beginning of the course will explore the mechanics of the information gathering and dissemination process, the course will be oriented mainly towards users, rather than preparers, of accounting information. The project will include discussion of the principles involved in accounting for current assets, plant assets, leases, intangible assets, current and long-term debt, stockholders' equity, the income statement and the statement of cash flows. Students will be expected to interpret and analyze actual financial statements. The nature of, and career opportunities in, the field of accounting will also be discussed. The project is a "mini course." It will present a substantial body of material and will require a considerable commitment of time by the student, including regular attendance and participation in discussion and homework cases and problems.
The course grade will be determined on the basis of several quizzes and a written group report presenting an analysis of a company's annual report..
Enrollment limit:30.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

Leo McMenimen has taught in the Winter Study Program at Williams College since 1980. He recently retired as a professor from the School of Business, Montclair State University.

Elementary description and analysis of the stock market. Emphasis will be on the roles of the market in our economy, including evaluation of business firms and the success of particular capital investments, allocating savings to different types of investment, and providing liquid and marketable financial investments for individual savers.
The course will focus on the description of mechanics of trading on various exchanges and other markets, stock market indexes of "averages" (Dow-Jones, S&P, 500, etc.), how to read the financial news, historical rates of return on stocks and portfolios, role of mutual funds, beta coefficients, and "random walk" theory. The course will also involve a brief introduction to financial reports of firms and analysis of financial ratios.
Each student will participate in discussions, do some homework assignments and, as part of a team, give two presentations and write a 10-page report analyzing the wisdom or folly of having chosen a particular investment portfolio. The project grade will be determined on the basis of performance on several quizzes and the written investment portfolio report.
Not intended for students who already know much about the stock market; students who have had Economics 317 not admitted.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:30.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to student: none.

Leo McMenimen has taught in the Winter Study Program at Williams College since 1980. He recently retired as a professor from the School of Business, Montclair State University.

Achieving economic growth and development requires more than just good policies-success depends on a country's economic strategy working effectively in an integrated manner. The demands of competent policy-making require balancing the competing interests of domestic and international investors, workers and the unemployed, bureaucrats and politicians, as well as other groups. Policy frameworks need to address difficult trade-offs, and key stakeholders must lend their political support. In the face of changing global circumstances and the dynamic pace of reform, policy-makers must evaluate and adapt economic strategies in order to support progress in achieving public objectives. This course provides skills for evaluating economic frameworks, exploring the coherence and interdependence of the strategy and its likelihood to achieve policy objectives. The material integrates the lessons from the first semester, applying them to specific development experiences in several countries.
Evaluation will be based on class participation, policy papers and a final presentation.

In this course, the class will carry out a real-time forecast of the U.S. economy and explore its implications for the bond and stock markets. The course will build upon principles of both macro and micro-economics. It will provide an introduction to the work done by business economists and the techniques they use. An economic database, chart-generating software and a statistical analysis program will be available to each student on the Jessup computers and, if necessary, on a disk for IBM-compatible computers.
The first week will focus on becoming familiar with the database, looking for relationships between key economic variables, and studying movements in interest rates over the period 1960-2002. Early in the first week, the class will be divided into teams of 2 students with each team choosing a particular aspect of the economy to forecast.
During the second and third weeks, the class will work with various leading indicators of economic activity and will prepare forecasts of the key components of gross domestic product and other key variables. We will also have several invited guests from the Wall Street investment world speaking on various aspects of the stock market at regular and optional class sessions. The fourth week will feature a formal presentation of the economic forecast with invited guests from the Williams College faculty.
To put the forecasting exercise in context, there will be class discussions of business cycles, credit cycles, long waves in inflation and interest rates and the impact of the Internet on the economy and the stock market.
Because essential concepts and tools are covered during the first week, all students are expected to attend the first class.
Requirements: homework, participation in short presentations of their analyses, a formal presentation during the last week, and a 3-page paper summerizing the result of the forecast project.
No prerequisites, but Economics 110 or another semester course in Economics is strongly recommended. Enrollment limit: 22.
Meeting time: mornings; 3-4 session per week. There will be two afternoons of workshops lasting approximately 30 minutes with hands-on instruction for each team.
Cost to student: approximately $25 for text and other materials.

ECON 18 Williams in North Adams: The Entrepreneurship of Shitake (Same as Biology 18, Environmental Studies 18 and Philosophy 18)

ECON 19 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (Same as Women's and Gender Studies 19)

This course examines tax policy towards low-income families in the United States, and has the following three objectives: 1) For students to understand the shift of redistributive policy in the United States from income support through the transfer system (Aid to Families with Dependent Children/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) towards support of working individuals through the tax system (primarily the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)); 2) For students to understand the challenges that low income individuals have "making ends meet" and to understand the role that the EITC has played in increasing the standard of living of the working poor; and 3) To enable students to understand the tax code well enough to prepare simple income tax returns, including those for filers claiming the EITC. Students will be trained by the IRS to prepare income tax returns for low-income individuals and families. At the end of the term, students will use their newly acquired expertise to help individuals and families in Berkshire County prepare and file their returns.
Evaluation: Students must complete IRS VITA training; staff one session of tax preparation assistance during the final week of winter term; and write a ten-page analytical and reflective essay.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 14.
Meeting time: mornings. Students are also required to participate in sessions with IRS trainers, with time to be announced.
Cost to student: $100 for texts and coursepack.

Henry George, an American economist (1839-1897) published "Progress and Poverty" in 1879. In this he observes that with increasing wealth there is increasing poverty and he offers a solution to this problem. We will study "Progress and Poverty" to understand his theory and his remedy and to understand the possibility of its application today.
George's remedy is to tax land to the exclusion of all other taxes. Today the Georgist movement uses this idea to encourage cities to modify the property tax, which, in most places, taxes land and buildings at the same rate, to reduce the tax on buildings and to increase the tax on land to produce the same yield. We will study the effect of shifting the property tax from buildings to land in the twenty Pennsylvania cities that have adopted this idea.
One of the great problems of the world today is that in many countries, a small minority of the people, own most of the land. We will study the possible use of George's ideas to ameliorate this problem.
Evaluation will be based on attendance and the completion of a 10-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 20.
The course will meet mornings for two hours on three days each week.
There will be no cost to students.

Albert Hartheimer has been an advocate for the philosophy of Henry George since 1967. He has worked to convince cities to adopt the two-rate tax by making studies of the effect of shifting taxes from buildings to land with constant yield. He served on the board of the Schalkenbach Foundation of America and The Center for the Study of Economics. He is an architect.

What do penalty kicks, the Tour de France, honeybees, Sumo wrestling, sailboat racing, drug dealers, hot dog eating competitions, and emotions have in common? All can be studied using standard (and nonstandard) economic analysis. Students will examine topics that are off the beaten path of traditional economics. Blending theory and creativity, students will work together to develop economic models of sports, drugs, crime, and nature. Questions we will consider include the following: What is the optimal strategy in an eating contest? What do hockey referees tell us about crime and punishment? Is love a romantic metaphor or simply a game-theoretic strategy? And, yes, why should you take Economics Where You Least Expect It?
Requirements: regular attendance and a 10 page paper.
Prerequisites: Economics 251. Enrollment limit: 16.
Meeting time: mornings 3 times a week.
Cost to students: $30 for books.

ECON 25 Evaluating Economic Strategy: A Case Study of South Africa's First Ten Years of Democracy

South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994 ushered in a government committed to a social and economic development program aimed at transforming the country. Ten years later, it is clear that the government's economic policies have turned around an economy that was in crisis. Economic growth has created jobs, but not enough to keep up with the increased number of people looking for employment. Development strategy has reduced poverty, but slowly, and enormous backlogs in social delivery of housing, health care and education still exist. South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, grappling with the costs and benefits of globalization as the government embraces free trade and financial liberalization, yet attempts to implement policies aimed at reducing poverty and improving social equity. What has worked, and what has failed? This course will provide students with an overview of South Africa's social and economic strategy over the past ten years, and an opportunity to explore first hand the dilemmas policy-makers face. Through meetings with Parliamentarians and bureaucrats, businesspeople and social activists, teachers and students, labor leaders and health care workers, the participants in this course will learn about the challenges, successes and failures of South Africa's socio-economic strategy.
South Africa is a country of contrasts: international polls rank Cape Town as one of the world's three most pleasant cities, yet minutes from the central business district smolder huge pockets of abject urban poverty. This course will investigate how such a skewed distribution of resources has evolved, and what progress a democratic government has made in redressing the problem. A major part of the course will focus on understanding the problem-visiting poor townships created as economically nonviable entities, investigating inequities in the provision of education and health care, and comprehending the predicament of the rural poor.
Since 1999, poverty reduction has replaced macro stabilization as the central goal of South Africa's policy framework. The market-oriented approach adopted by government, however, has left policy-makers with few effective tools for achieving their objectives. The unifying theme of this course explores how public policy can further social development as a means of achieving economic growth and reducing poverty. The course will examine the constraints imposed by the apartheid legacy, and the distinct stages of the democratic government's approach to social and economic transformation. Using economic data, first-hand observation and meetings with key stakeholders, students will acquire skills in evaluating the effectiveness of the government's socio-economic strategy.

Kenneth Mac Quene is Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Institute.

The "Specialization Route" to the degree with Honors in Economics requires that each candidate take an Honors Winter Study Project in January of their senior year. Students who wish to begin their honors work in January should submit a detailed proposal. Decisions on admission to the Honors WSP will be made in the fall. Information on the procedures will be mailed to senior majors in economics early in the fall semester.
Seniors who wish to apply for admission to the Honors WSP and thereby to the Honors Program should register for this WSP as their first choice.
Some seniors will have begun honors work in the fall and wish to complete it in the WSP. They will be admitted to the WSP if they have made satisfactory progress. They should register for this WSP as their first choice.

To be taken by students participating in year-long thesis research (ECON 493-W031-494).

ENGLISH

ENGL 10 Living by Words: Surviving and Thriving in the Art and Sport of Rhetoric (Same as Comparative Literature 10, Leadership Studies 13, and Special 13)

This film course will also be a casual tutorial on popular American moods, both cultural and political, and it will seek to place the films we study in the context of such trends as Fifties conformism and dread of Communism or the post-Watergate mistrust of government. The class will examine the possibility that what unites these loose allegories is not only their expression of once-popular fears, but also their campiness - their impulse to subvert our solemnities, whether intentionally or inadvertently. The films will include Halloween, Village of the Damned, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dawn of the Dead, Eyes Without a Face, Forbidden Planet, The Exorcist, Them, Starship Trooper, The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, and The Ring.
Requirements: short oral presentations and one ten page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings, three times a week.
Cost to student: none.

Dean Crawford has written The Lay of the Land, a novel, as well as articles and stories. He teaches writing and literature at Vassar College but harbors an affection for ingenious science fiction and horror movies.

This course explores the evolution of modern documentary photography. We will start with Robert Frank's The Americans, and how Frank's singular vision deeply shaped the next generation of photographers working the American streets and landscape. Diane Arbus, Bruce Davidson, Lee Freidlander, William Klein, Danny Lyon, Gary Winogrand are some of the photographers whose work we will get to know well . Discussions will include the new wave of independent and Magnum photojournalists (Phillip Jones Griffiths, Josef Koudleka, Susan Meiselas, Gilles Peress, James Nachtwey, Alex Webb, Ron Haviv and Tyler Hicks) and the wars from Vietnam to Bosnia to Iraq they cover as well as the personal visions they explore. Insight into the diverse currents of documentary photography will be explored through the work of Robert Adams, Bill Burke, Larry Clark, Lois Conner, Linda Connor, Larry Fink, Nan Goldin, Emmet Gowin, Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, Nicholas Nixon, and Abelardo Morell. The class will meet three mornings a week for two hours. Slide presentations will occupy half of the first meetings and give way to discussion of issues in documentary photography. Students will be encouraged to work on individual projects of their own choice. Each student will be required to make a brief presentation to the class on a documentary topic of their choice. A final paper expanding on this documentary topic will be due at the end of the course. Students will be evaluated on their classroom presentation, general participation and their written work. A field trip to New York will let us see first hand works from the collections at the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and the International Center of Photography and meet with curators of photography at these institutions.
No prerequisites. Enrollment: 12. Preference to upper class students.
Cost to student: $50 ( for NYC and other fieldtrip personal expenses).

Kevin Bubriski has received photography fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. His photographic prints are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the International Center of Photography in New York, and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.

This is a course for students interested in writing a long, non-fiction essay. We shall begin by reading together the work of some contemporary practitioners such as David Foster Wallace, Adam Gopnik and Janet Malcolm and by considering the distinctive styles of several general-interest magazines including Harper's, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker. Throughout the course, students will work independently on their essays, which should run between 2,500 and 3,000 words and reflect extensive research or reporting. Students will be expected to have selected a topic before the first class meeting.
Requirements: completion of a long, researched, non-fiction essay.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:14. Priority to English Majors.
Meeting time: afternoons, three times a week for two hours.
Cost to student: $25-$50.

Winter Study is a perfect time to read, and this a class for people who would like to deepen their relationship with an author they would like to know better. It will be run as a colloquium. In the first week you will choose the author you want to explore, compile a list of the author's complete works, and in consultation with the instructor, decide how much of it you want to read, and assign two or three items (poems, stories, chapters from novels, acts of plays, essays) to the rest of the class for reading and discussion. In the second week you will compile a list of biographies and autobiography, and do some selective reading to discover how many "lives" your author had, what kinds of things the biographers agree and disagree about, whether and how your author's life illuminates or complicates an understanding of the works. In the third week you will find out what's hot and controversial in critical and scholarly discussions of your author. In the fourth week, you will draw on your reading to write an imitation or parody of your author, complete with introductory commentary.
Evaluation will be based on annotated bibliographies and oral presentations in the first three weeks (60%), and a written 10-page imitation or parody-plus-commentary in the final week (40%).
Prerequisite: any 100-level English class except 150, or any literature class in Comparative Literature or the language departments. The class will meet three times a week for two hours in the mornings. Regular attendance is mandatory.
Enrollment limit:12. Preference to upper class literature majors.
Cost to student: under $25, for xeroxing.

Victorian fiction conjured many of the monsters that still haunt our cultural imagination: Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, and miraculously resurrected (or surviving) dinosaurs. This course will focus on the original novels and stories from which these mythic figures emerged: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, considering their engagement with the dominant cultural anxieties of their day and the grounds of their enduring appeal. We will also discuss a few of the myriad film permutations of these stories, and students will do independent projects on the evolution of one of these figures in popular culture.
Requirements: one 4-to 5-page paper and one presentation that will focus on the student's independent project.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: none.

An investigation of black films through a focus on three divergent contemporary directors. The primary emphasis will be on recurring methods and techniques in these films that help us to understand the limits and possibilities of the conventions. We will also look at theoretical accounts of the nature of the films by the directors themselves and by their critics. Students will view films by these directors as well as those by John Singleton, Kassi Lemmons and Julie Dash. Theoretical essays will be assigned in conjunction with film-viewings.
Requirements: three critical film reviews that will be no more than 2 pages each and a final 6- to 8-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: afternoons, three times a week.
Cost to student: approximately $30 for course packet.

In 1893, the historian Frederick Jackson Turner claimed that the existence of the frontier had been the source of the American character, which he defined as a mixture of practical wit, ceaseless energy, and individual freedom. In his view, the frontier was a "free land" of "opportunity," an unmarked expanse beckoning and demanding that Americans annex it. Yet the frontier was also a war zone, marked by relentless and chaotic violence, and the frontiersman's freedom could be the occasion for an unravelling of the self. The frontier was the site not only of the advance of one civilization, but the destruction of a host of preexisting civilizations. And nature on the frontier was seen in any number of lights: a willing partner in economic endeavor, a spectacle for aesthetic contemplation, or a wild and hostile front posing only danger. This course will examine the problems of selfhood, national identity, and the relationship of nature to culture which lent the myth of the frontier its ideological force. Readings include: Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail; Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly; James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers; A Son of the Forest, the autobiography of the Pequot William Apess; Thomas Bangs Thorpe, "The Big Bear of Arkansas"; Zitkala-S�, Native American Stories; Willa Cather, O Pioneers.
Requirements: one 10-page paper and one in-class presentation.
Prerequisite: 100-level English course other than English 150. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: afternoons, two times a week for three hours.
Cost to student: approximately $70 for books.

ENGL 18 Images of Illness: Photographic Representations in Medicine (Same as ArtH 18 and Biology 17)

The course will examine the esthetic, documentary and therapeutic uses of photography in medicine via three resources: the literature, guest speakers, and practice. We will examine how patients and health care workers have been represented in the photographic medium, and how these representations have evolved with political and social changes. The goal is to sensitize us to the role of image-based methods in representing various aspects of medicine. We'll look at some of the very first documentation of illness using photography in the nineteenth century, as well as the use of photography in dealing with AIDS, breast cancer and other illnesses in the works of Hugh Diamond, Jo Spence, Nicholas Nixon and others. Contemporary documentary and fine art photographers dealing with these themes will present their work in class. Lastly, class participants will be asked to photograph, and critique in writing, simple documentary assignments.
Requirements: consistent attendance and active participation in class and assignments.
Prior photographic experience is not required for this class. Enrollment limit: 10.
Meeting time: afternoons, three two-hour classes per week.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for books and materials.

Barry Goldstein is a portrait and documentary photographer with an interest in medically related themes. Originally trained as a physician and biophysicist, he teaches on photographic subjects at NYU, the University of Rochester and numerous workshops. His work can be viewed at bgoldstein.net

This course is particularly designed for students who are currently wallowing in the morass of their own novels, or who imagine themselves diving in and want to test the mud. Class time will be divided between lecture/discussions and workshops; for the first half of the course, we'll talk about different kinds of novels and different strategies for building them. I'll ask you to complete a number of short sketches or plot summaries, which we will workshop in class. But you will also be working on a longer, more detailed summary, a scene-by-scene breakdown of an extended piece of prose fiction, which can either be some pre-existing project that you bring in from outside the class, or else something generated out of the first two weeks. During the second half of the course, we will workshop those. The goal is to finish with one functioning, detailed outline, and several small workable sketches.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12.
Meeting time: afternoons, three 2-hour sessions each week.
Cost to student: none.

Writing nonfiction feature articles for mainstream magazines is a uniquely viable way both to practice the craft of writing and to make a living - with more creativity than traditional journalism and far more reliability than screenwriting. This workshop will immerse students in the genre, providing tools for understanding and navigating the realm while guiding students through every step of writing nonfiction for magazines. In short, students will learn how magazines work and how to write articles that work for magazines. Nonfiction magazine writing is also known as literary journalism or creative nonfiction. The best of this type of nonfiction shares many qualities with good fiction: It is artful yet unaffected in its prose, strategic and structured in its narrative and vivid in its characterizations. But it is also targeted very specifically to each magazine's distinctive audience and grounded firmly in facts and ethics. This workshop will explore these issues as well as voice, tone, idea development, research, the query process and, most vital of all, the writing of finished pieces. Students will write several short and one long work of nonfiction, suitable for submission to magazines, and will refine these writings through a round-table workshop process. Course readings will introduce students to top-quality literary journalism from the magazine world, including selections from authors such as Susan Orlean and David Quammen. Students will be evaluated on workshop participation and on the writing of workshop assignments, including several short and one long work of magazine-style nonfiction, totaling approximately twenty pages.
Prerequisites: any English Department creative writing or writing intensive course, or by permission of the instructor.Enrollment limit:15.Selection criteria: In the event of over-enrollment, selection will be made on the basis of writing samples.
Meeting times: afternoons, three times per week.
Cost to student: nominal (several texts).

Susan Reifer is a widely-published magazine writer, specializing in adventure, travel and sports. Her work, which includes more than 150 published articles to date, has appeared primarily in large-circulation publications such as Outside Magazine, SKI Magazine and Sports Illustrated Women. She graduated from Williams College in 1985.

ENGL 22 Willa Cather: Art and Ambition (Same as American Studies 12, Classics 10, Comparative Literature 13 and Women's and Gender Studies 10)

Though in the past often described as a "Nebraska novelist" or "a leading woman writer," Willa Cather today is increasingly recognized simply as one of America's greatest authors. The first goal of this course is to give students a chance to read and discuss a substantial selection of Cather's fiction dating from the start of her career through 1926.
As we read these works, we shall pay particular attention to themes of art and ambition, especially as they relate to the heroines of Cather's novels. This topic also has very personal relevance to Cather herself, who strove relentlessly to become an ever more skillful artist-and who was also driven by ambition to win public recognition, and to garner its rewards. Finally, I hope that reading Cather's works with these themes in mind will stimulate students to think about questions they face as did Cather-as they try to balance personal interests and values with the pressures of shaping one's career.
Schedule: three 2 1/2 hour meetings per week, probably 1-3:30 p.m, TWTh.
Evaluation will be based on participation and attendance, preparation of several short response papers and a longer oral report, and a final term paper of at least 10 pages.
Cost to student: approximately $100 (for books and course packet).
The course will be open to students from all classes, without prerequisite. Enrollment limit: 12.

The music called "Jazz" has been, in substance and in its associations, a rich cultural signifier. This course will examine various attempts in written and visual media, in commentary and in style, to define "jazz" and its cultural significance. Texts will include essays, fiction, poetry, autobiographical works, interviews, journalism, film clips, photographs, and paintings. We will give particular attention to musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Charles Mingus. We will read texts by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Ralph Ellison, Albert Murray, Bob Kaufman, Ntozake Shange, Whitney Balliett, and others.
Requirements: Students will be expected to contribute actively to the in-class analysis of texts and images. A class presentation and a final 10-page paper will also be required.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15. Preference given to students with prior course work in African-American Studies, jazz, or photography.
Meeting time: mornings, three times a week.

Desert Places explores the American tradition of seeing Sonoran deserts as dangerous, waste, or empty places available for development by Euroamerican settlers without regard for natural or cultural history. Among the "utopian" sites studied will be Tucson (both the downtown and its sprawling surround of resort and retirement communities); the University of Arizona Desert Laboratory; Indian gaming resorts; Biosphere 2 and Arcosanti. We'll frame our approach to these sites by looking at ways some earlier cultures (Tohono O'oodham, Hopi, Mexican) accommodated and responded to the area's stringent ecology. We'll spend one or two nights camping in the desert if it can be arranged.
The course will begin with ten days of classes at Williams, followed by a sixteen-day trip to Arizona. In addition to site visits and talks with local ecologists and historians, we'll read works of literary and cultural history (Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, William Finnegan, ) deep ecology, urban development, and systems theory.
Evaluation will be based on class attendance, participation, two to three short site-specific papers that they'll present during class meeting in Arizona, and a final 8-page interpretive paper. In the event of overenrollment, selection for the course will be based on a short statement of interest.
Prerequisites: a one-page statement of interest, due by December 1st. Enrollment limit:10.
Meeting time: In Williamstown, three mornings a week; in Arizona, four days a week, flexibly arranged according to the logistics of travel and site availability.
This course is not defined as a "trip" for financial aid purposes. The maximum reimbursement to financial aid students is $500.
Cost: approximately $950.

This course gives students an opportunity to do research on their favorite film directors and in an oral presentation share what they have learned. The first half of the course will be devoted to developing a filmography and an annotated bibliography of 10 items (e.g., reviews, articles, books or chapters) on the director each student chooses. We will be working with a librarian to facilitate this part of the course. One reading about each director or one of his/her films will be recommended for reading by the whole class (this should be approximately 10-15 pages long). During this time, we will also screen one film by each director for the whole class to view. There will be oral presentations during the second half of the course, and students should also turn in their filmographies, bibliographies, and an outline of their oral presentation at the end of Winter Study. Students may choose to augment their oral presentations with video clips from the directors' films.
Requirements: annotated bibliography, filmography, oral presentation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 8.
Meeting time: afternoons; 3 times a week.
Cost to student: none.

ENGL 28 Fantasy Novels of C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams (Same as Mathematics 14)

Required during Winter Study of all seniors admitted to candidacy for honors via the specialization route.

Required during Winter Study of all seniors admitted to candidacy for honors via the thesis route.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

This course will explore the tools for studying the natural world through various uses of writing, literature, and drawing. Students will spend time outdoors learning the ecosystem of the Williamstown area and time indoors doing observational drawing, reflective writing, and reading and discussions of nature literature. The writing component of the journal will be the equivalent of a 10-page paper. The month's work will be contained in a nature journal, to be displayed and discussed as part of a final project. Designed for students with interests in environmental studies, natural history writing, and drawing.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12.
Cost to student: $50 for books and art supplies.
Meeting time: mornings.

Clare Walker Leslie has written eight books, six on drawing nature including, Keeping a Nature Journal. Christian McEwen is the editor of Jo's Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure, True Grit & Real Life, and co-editor of The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing. She divides her time between teaching in the USA and Scotland.

ENVI 13 The Law and the Literature of the Environment: The Environment on Trial

This course will trace the development of an American consciousness towards the environment through an examination of the historical and political roots of our law and literature. "Law" includes state and federal judicial decisions and legislation. "Literature" includes not just the written word but also painting, sculpture, and music. An important question to be addressed in this course is why so many Americans can be so passionate on environmental issues, for instance, barring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, when almost none of us will ever set foot on the Refuge itself. Our journey to understand this quintessentially American phenomenon begins with the Puritans of New England, the planters of Virginia and their predecessors. Among the other subjects to be considered are the influence of the frontier and the important role played by the ready availability of seemingly endless land, Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Emerson and Thoreau, Manifest Destiny, the paintings of Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, Frederick Remington and others, the beginning of the environmental protection movement, Frederick Jackson Turner and the end of the frontier in 1890, the establishment of the forest service and the national park systems, Teddy Roosevelt and the debate between conservation v. preservation, the music of Aaron Copeland, Woody Guthrie and others, Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, environmental "trigger" disasters, the crucial year, 1960, and the decade that followed, NEPA, EPA and the role of the courts, Mr. Justice Douglas' dissent in Sierra Club v. Morton, and the approach of the current national administration.
Evaluation will be based on attendance and classroom participation. Students will prepare a 10-page analytical paper or, alternatively, four 3-page short papers which will present one or more sides of an issue and form the basis for classroom discussion. They will be asked to defend or reject the conclusions reached or approaches taken by our courts and legislatures and by our literature, as broadly defined, on environmental issues.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 20.
Meeting time: mornings, three 2-hour sessions a week.
Cost to students: approximately $60 for books and materials.

Philip R. McKnight '65 is a trial and appellate attorney, who continues to pursue a life-long interest in history and the environment. At Williams he completed the honors program for both American History and Literature and European History. He earned his law degree from The University of Chicago Law School and then practiced in the state and federal courts of New York and Connecticut, as well as in Europe.

Where does our food come from? Is there enough on hand in the region for a secure supply for all of us? Can or should more food be produced locally? Is farmland still being lost here? Who is hungry in our community, and why? Are diet-related diseases a local problem? These are all questions that are answered by undertaking a Community Food Assessment (CFA), which is the focus of this course. A CFA examines a broad range of food related issues and resources in order to inform actions to improve community food security. Community food security is achieved when all citizens obtain "a culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through local, non-emergency sources." In an unstable world, with many unsustainable practices, knowledge of the local food system can be a valuable asset. Students in this course will collect data on our food system by interviewing, surveying, direct observation, and conducting focus groups in the community. We will also take advantage of the Internet, GIS, and groundwork laid by local organizations such as Berkshire Grown. Students' interests will determine our goals, possibly including underutilized farmland, barriers to healthful eating, community gardens, sources of food eaten locally, quantification of foods grown locally, etc.
We will meet twice a week for 3-hour sessions of plotting strategies, sharing data, and working on computers individually. It is expected that students will spend at least 20 hours per week on aspects of data collection, including time spent traveling in the community. The outcome of the course will be a group report on the regional food system, with individual students writing chapters of at least 10 pages in length.
Students will be evaluated on their written contribution and participation.
Enrollment limit: 20.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to students $40.

Lee Venolia is a Research Associate at the Center for Environmental Studies. She has a Ph.D. in genetics, and a long-term interest in food issues. She received training in CFA's at the annual meeting of the Community Food Security Association, November 2003.

ENVI 15 Corporate Leadership and Social Responsibility (Same as Leadership Studies 10)

ENVI 18 Williams in North Adams: The Entrepreneurship of Shitake (Same as Biology 18, Economics 18 and Philosophy 18)

ENVI 19 Introduction to Research in Environmental Science (Same as Chemistry 19)

ENVI 21 Fieldwork in Public and Private Non-Profits (Same as Political Science 21)

GEOSCIENCES

This class will broaden students' appreciation for the appearance and history of the landscape and teach the skills of making a successful photograph. Williamstown, situated in a valley between the Green and Taconic Mountains and bisected by the Green and Hoosic Rivers, is a place of great natural beauty. The local landscape is a subject that inspires both professional and amateur photographers alike. While Williamstown will be the subject of most of our work, we will use it to learn principles of universal application. Students will discover the importance of light in making a photograph. They will also learn camera skills and the mechanics of photography to make slides, which will be reviewed at biweekly class meetings. In addition to photographing and critiquing slides, the class will visit collections at the Clark Art Institute and WCMA to see original work and examine and discuss books on reserve at Sawyer Library. An overview of the history of landscape photography will be provided with an emphasis on American workers such as Carlton Watkins, William Henry Jackson, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Alvin Langdon Cobern. We will also demonstrate examples of different cameras such as medium format, view cameras, and panorama cameras. Students will produce a body of successful photographs/slides that will be projected at the Winter Study presentation day. Students will submit short written explanations with each of their photographic assignments.
Evaluation will be based on attendance, the student's photography, and their presentation.
Prerequisites: students will need a 35mm camera. Enrollment limit:15. Preference given to first-year students and sophomores.
Meeting time: mornings; 3 days a week for the first two weeks and 2 days a week after that; short field trips will supplement the morning meetings.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for film and materials.

Nicholas Whitman is a professional photographer and the former Curator of Photography at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. A 1977 graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, he has honed his craft to make landscape photographs of power and depth. See more at www.nwphoto.com.

Participants on this trip will spend two-and-a-half weeks on the Baja Peninsula and islands in the Gulf of California. After assembling in San Diego, CA, the group will drive south along the trans-peninsular highway (MEX 1) to the city of Loreto, visiting geologic outcrops and eco-regions that illustrate the unusual tectonic and biological history of the Baja Peninsula and adjacent Gulf of California. Once at Loreto, the group will travel by boat to Carmen and Coronado Islands. Participants should expect primitive conditions and should be willing to contribute to the duties of communal camp life.
Extended stops will be made at two unstudied Gulf of California coastal basins. The basin at San Franciscito is Pliocene in age and formed in granites of (Cretaceous?) age. The basin at Coronado Island abuts the south side of a Pleistocene age volcano. During the trip students will learn to measure stratigraphic sections, map geologic units, collect and identify fossils, and synthesize geologic and biologic data. Course evaluation will be based on completion of a daily journal and a geologic map with explanatory text for the San Franciscito project (10-page equivalent).
Prerequisite: Geoscience 253T. Enrollment limit: 10.
Cost to student: $1200.

GERMAN

Something new and different for students enrolled in German 101-102. Practice in the use of German for everyday purposes; creation and performance of short dramatic sketches through group collaboration; games; songs; storytelling; reading. No homework.
Requirements: active participation and regular attendance earn a "Pass" grade.
Prerequisites: German 101 or equivalent. Limited to German 101-102 students.
Meeting time: mornings, 3 times a week 9-9:50 a.m.
Cost to student: approximately $5 for photocopied materials.

Begin or continue study of German at the Goethe Institute in Germany. The Goethe Institute program attracts students from all over the world. A typical course meets for four weeks, 18 hours/week, generally providing the equivalent of one semester course at Williams. To earn a pass, the student must receive the Goethe Institute's Teilnahme-Best�tigung which denotes regular attendance at classes, completion of homework, and successful completion of a final test. Students wishing to apply must fill out an application, obtainable in the office of the Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures in Weston,or online at www.goethe.de, and return it to the Goethe Institute as soon as possible (admission is on a first-come, first-served basis).
No prerequisites, but any student interested in beginning German with this course and then entering German 102 at Williams should contact Professor Kieffer by December 1, at the latest. Enrollment limit: 15. Not open to first-year students.
Cost to student: $1600 to $2100 for tuition and room and board, plus round trip travel costs. The Goethe Institute arranges for room and board at various levels upon students' request, but students must make their own travel arrangements. This course is not defined as a "trip" for financial aid purposes. The maximum reimbursement to financial aid students is $500.

HISTORY

Hollywood seems to have an enduring fascination with imaginatively recreating certain Japanese cultural icons: the noble samurai, violent yakuza, demure Japanese woman, and stoic businessman. This course will examine the history of how American films have portrayed Japan, from the late 1950s to the present. We will consider questions of how and why images of Japan have changed over this period, whether or not films can and should endeavor to capture "the real", and how we should understand these film portrayals. Our discussions will be grounded in some theoretical reading, including works on Orientalism, and the history of U.S.-Japan relations in the post-World War II period. Films to be shown will include "Sayonara" (1957), "The Barbarian and the Geisha" (1958), "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970), "Gung Ho" (1986), "Black Rain" (1989), "Rising Sun" (1993), "The Last Samurai" (2003), and "Lost in Translation" (2003).
Evaluation will be based on class participation and one 10-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:20.
Meeting time: mornings; 2-3 sessions per week.
Cost to student: $30 for books and photocopies.

What books did you love when you were a kid? What books did and over? Were there book characters you knew as well as real people? As adults, how does the literature we read as kids continue to influence us emotionally and intellectually? How significant a part of childhood is reading? How do book illustrations and reading aloud influence our relationships with books? In this class, we will re-visit the books we loved as children with children. Each college student will work with an elementary school student. Together you will both read each other's favorite books and talk and write about them. Depending on the age of your partner and their inclination s/he and you may want to do some illustrations as well. We will read discuss a few readings on memory and the history of childhood as a class, but your primary work will be the literature you read with your school age reading partner.
Requirements will include a book list drawn up by you and the child, additional works of children's literature, and brief readings we will do as a class. Students will also turn in a record of correspondence between you and the child, and two 5-page papers on children's literature-one autobiographical and one analytical.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12.
Meeting time: mornings, 2-3 sessions per week.

HIST 13 Dances With Stereotypes?: American Indians on Film (Same as American Studies 13)

Cinematic representations of American Indians have seemingly abandoned the negative stereotypes of early Westerns. In the last thirty years, film makers have increasingly professed their concern for historical accuracy and cultural sensibility in representing Indian subjects. In this course, we will test these claims by examining old and new representations of Indians in mainstream American films and by comparing these representations with those found in foreign films and films directed and produced by American Indians. How and why have images of Indians in mainstream American films changed? To what extent have they remained the same? To what extent are foreign and American Indian films proposing alternative ways of representing Indian history and culture? To answer these questions, we will not only watch a number of movies but also read short essays on American Indian history, film history, and movie reviews. Evaluation will be based on class participation and a 10-page paper comparing two or more movies. Films we will see include: Broken Arrow; Little Big Man; How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman; The Mission; Powwow Highways; Dances With Wolves; Black Robe; Smoke Signals.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:25.
Meeting time: mornings; 2-3 sessions per week.
Cost to student: $40 for books and photocopies.

HIST 14 Women and Politics in the Middle East: The Long Twentieth Century (Same as International Studies 14 and Women's and Gender Studies 14)

If women hold up half the sky, why have they not played a larger role in Middle Eastern politics during the twentieth century? Has the role of women been insignificant, or merely unrecognized? What issues regarding women's participation in the political arena are specific to the Middle East, and what have global relevance? Starting with the late Ottoman Empire (1870s), this course examines the various roles women have played in the political life of the modern Middle East, from the colonial/mandate era, through the struggles for independence, to the current day. We will consider participation through both formal (voting rights, candidacy for electoral office) and informal (influence within the family, popular protest) channels. Throughout this period, the precise nature and extent of women's participation has been a matter of public debate. Using primary and secondary sources, we will examine the political, economic, social, and religious arguments that have been advanced throughout the twentieth century to both promote and limit women's participation in the political realm.
For the final paper, students will have the option of working either chronologically or thematically: analyzing the historical experiences of a particular nation-state, or analyzing the regional significance of a particular issue and/or set of arguments regarding women's participation in political life.
Meeting time: mornings, 2-3 sessions per week.
Evaluation will be based upon regular attendance, response papers and a 10 page final paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:20.
Fees include $25 reading packet and two books.

Andrea Stanton '98 is a doctoral student in Middle Eastern history at Columbia University and a teaching fellow at Columbia College.

Iceland is cool, both literally and figuratively. For centuries, people barely managed to survive in this remote and cold place at the edge of the world. Recently, however, Icelanders have come to enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world with an incredible diversity in artistic production. So how do a people and a culture manage to stay alive in an unforgiving climate? Why is this cultural production so lively and thriving? And how does Iceland's unique nature and history influence its contemporary artists? In this travel course, Williams students will be exposed to how Icelanders bring light to their long and dark days of winter. The vibrant Icelandic art scene will be explored by visiting Icelandic artists, galleries, and art schools; we will listen to Icelandic musicians, rappers, rockers and classical musicians, to assess how nature and light may or may not spark artistic flares. We will consider whether Icelanders view themselves as Icelandic or part of a universal cultural movement. We will also explore the art of making money in Iceland, especially how entrepreneurs have utilized Iceland's nature, such as a cutting-edge genetics company, geo-thermal plant, and adventure tourism. Requirements: an introductory session will be held in Williamstown prior to the trip, approximately 300 pages of reading on Icelandic culture, and a final project/paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12.
Cost to student: approximately $1750, which includes airfare, lodging, domestic transportation, and some meals.

HISTORY OF SCIENCE

HSCI 12 NASA and the Space Program (Same as Astronomy 12 and Leadership Studies 12)

INTERDEPARTMENTAL PROGRAM FOR EXPERIMENTAL AND CROSS-DISCIPLINARY STUDIES

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

INST 12 Paris-Dakar: Stories of Sports Cars and Much More... (Same as Comparative Literature 12 and French 12)

INST 14 Women and Politics in the Middle East: The Long Twentieth Century (Same as History 14 and Women's and Gender Studies 14)

Students will travel to Cairo and enroll in a January term intensive Arabic course at the American University of Cairo. The course meets four hours a day with additional practice sessions. Students will live in the dormitories of the university and make occasional day trips around Cairo to practice Arabic and see the Pharonic and Islamic sights.
Successful completion of the WSP course will depend on successful completion of the course. Students enrolled in the course will also need to attend three preparatory meeting during the fall.
Enrollment limit: 8.
This course is not defined as a "trip" for financial aid purposes. The maximum reimbursement to financial aid students is $500.
Cost to student: approximately $3600.

JEWISH STUDIES

JWST 12 Murder in Mesopotamia: Legal Traditions of the Ancient Near East (Same as Classics 12 and Legal Studies 12)

LEADERSHIP STUDIES

LEAD 10 Corporate Leadership and Social Responsibility (Same as Environmental Studies 15)

This course considers the responsibilities of leadership in corporate life through the perspectives of visiting alumni who hold leadership positions in American corporations. It examines the social obligations created by success in business, with special emphasis on the social and environmental duties of contemporary business. We will also explore the organizational, professional, social, and personal dilemmas faced by leading figures in modern corporations and institutions. Readings will include material from organizational sociology and economics, as well as relevant biography and autobiography. Evaluation will be based on attendance and participation in class discussions, and a final 10-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:22.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: approximately $30 for reading materials.

This course will focus on the study of the particular skills needed to run a successful non-profit organization, which include administration, creative vision, financial management, fund raising, and public accountability. It will also consider, absent the profit motive, what spurs a non-profit's pursuit of excellence. The syllabus is based on a series of case studies, involving presentations by administrators and directors from arts, social service, educational, and environmental organizations. Notable institutions, such as the New York City Ballet and MASS MoCA, will be represented. Class discussion will be informed by assigned readings and organizational materials.
Student evaluation will be based on class attendance (which is required) and acceptable preparation as evidenced by class participation and familiarity with the assigned readings and other materials. One or two students will be assigned to each class to act as leaders of the class discussion. They will be responsible for: (1) familiarizing themselves with the organization and the guest speaker; (2) undertaking additional reading and research on the subject of the organization's mission; and (3) preparing questions and discussion points. Each student will prepare an evaluation on each non-profit after its case study. Finally, a 10-page paper will be due by the last day of class in which the student: (1) evaluates the organizations and executives s/he has studied in terms of integrity of mission and effectiveness in forwarding its cause; and (2) identifies the common characteristics or traits shared by the non-profit executives who s/he considers most successful.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15. Preference given to juniors.
Class will meet three times each week, for three hours in the afternoon. A three-day trip to New York City to visit non-profits is also planned.
Cost to students: approximately $150 (for books, readings, and trip to NYC).

LEAD 12 NASA and the Space Program (Same as Astronomy 12 and History of Science 12)

LEAD 13 Living by Words: Surviving and Thriving in the Art and Sport of Rhetoric (Same as Comparative Literature 10, English 10, and Special 13)

Peter Drucker claims, " The earliest writers on the subject...know all that has ever been known about leadership. The scores of books, papers and speeches on leadership...that come out every year have little to say on the subject that was not already old when the Prophets spoke and Aeschylus wrote. The first systematic book on leadership: the Kyropaidaia [The Education of Cyrus] of Xenophon-himself no mean leader of men-is still the best book on the subject." In this course we will explore this claim by taking a "liberal arts" approach to the study of Leadership. We will study Xenophon's Education of Cyrus and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to learn how to be better leaders.
Students will be evaluated through their individual classroom participation, team presentations and the writing of a 10-page analytic paper.
Prerequisites: familiarity with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings will be assumed. Enrollment limit: 16.
Meeting time: Wednesday in the afternoon and Thursday in the morning.

Dr. James Maroosis is a Recipient of The Innovations Award in American Government co-sponsored by The Ford Foundation and The JFK School of Government at Harvard University. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto and currently teaches a seminar on Leadership for the 21st Century: Innovation, Creativity and Responsibility and a seminar on The Giants in the History of Management: Peter Drucker, Mary Parker Follett and Marshall McLuhan at Fordham's Graduate School of Business Administration and a course on Management as Humanism and Liberal Art for The Deming Scholars MBA Program at Fordham. He has had recent articles on Innovation and Creativity published in The Harvard Management Update and Leader to Leader the quarterly journal of The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management.

LEAD 15 Interpersonal Conflict Resolution (Same as Mathematics 12 and Psychology 15)

This Winter Study project is for students who would like to participate in an off-campus experiential education opportunity. Students will be required to research an appropriate accredited program i.e. National Outdoor Leadership School, Outward Bound etc., that will provide a suitable learning environment and be at least 22 days in length. The Director of the Williams Outing Club will assist students in their search if necessary. Upon choosing a program and being accepted, students will meet with the Director in a pre-program meeting in December to create a framework for observing group dynamics and studying a variety of leadership styles. A required ten-page paper based on their journals will be required immediately after their return to campus for the start of third quarter. There will also be a follow up class to debrief the experience in the first week of February. All programs must meet with the approval of the Outing Club Director.
Requirements: course approval by WOC Director, daily journal writing with focus on leadership and group dynamics, ten page paper and 2 class meetings pre and post trip.
Student assessment will be based on ten page paper and class discussions.
No prerequisites. Not open to first-year students. Interested sophomores, juniors and seniors must consult with WOC Director before registration. Enrollment limit:20.
Cost to student will vary depending on the program selected-range is generally from $1,500-3,000.

LEGAL STUDIES

Students in this course will learn how the Massachusetts Trial Court works through discussion with faculty, reading and site visits to local courts. In addition to observing court proceedings, students will have ample opportunity to meet with court personnel in order to gain insight into how personnel view their role and function. The main focus of this course will be on local or community courts. In Massachusetts, the District Courts have jurisdiction over a wide variety of matters and can have a significant impact on the quality of life of a community. Students may be surprised to learn that judges have a finely honed appreciation of the court's aspirations and mission. Nevertheless it is worthwhile to question whether these aspirations are apparent to the public and if they meet the public's expectation of what courts should be.
Requirements: Students are expected to read materials, participate in weekly seminars, spend no fewer than 30 hours at an assigned court site, maintain a journal, and write a 10-page final paper.
Students taking this course are also expected to meet with faculty before the end of the Fall term on the campus at a time to be arranged. The purpose of this meeting includes an overview of the syllabus and discussion and selection of court sites.
Meeting time: M 7-9:30 p.m.

Elliot Zide has been a trial court judge for more than 18 years and has served in a variety of administrative roles in the courts. He has been the chair of the District Court's Education Committee and chaired the District Court's annual conference at Williams College for fourteen years.

LGST 12 Murder in Mesopotamia: Legal Traditions of the Ancient Near East (Same as Classics 12 and Jewish Studies 12)

LINGUISTICS

LING 10 Surviving Your Fifteen Minutes: An Intensive Look at the Phenomenon of Reality Television

What is reality television? When did it start? Where is it headed? Why do so many people love it? And just how real is it, really? To help answer these questions, we will read and discuss various scholarly works on the topic of reality television. In addition, during the middle two-thirds of the course, selected students will be immersed in a highly competitive simulation of the reality television show Survivor, voting each other out of the simulation in order to be the last one standing and the winner of the ultimate prize! Because of the nature of the simulation, attendance is absolutely mandatory for students in the simulation. There is also room in the course for students interested in the topic and in helping to observe and to run the simulation but who cannot or do not wish to compete in the actual simulation itself. The course concludes with a hands-on analysis of the editing process, as we find out how malleable reality can be, how lies can be spun out of truth, and how heroes and villains can be edited from the same source. Students will work together to write up the story of their collective experiences in the simulation, to be published in weekly installments (in the spring in the Record and/or on the web), giving everyone in the course a chance at their own 15 minutes.
Evaluation will be based upon attendance, participation in the simulation, a final 10-page paper on some scholarly aspect of reality television, and documentary-style summaries of the events of the simulation. The number of required summaries depends on performance in the simulation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:20. Selection based on lottery.
Meeting time: mornings, 4 three-hour meetings per week (M, T, W, and R)
Cost to student: about $50 for readings and other materials.

LING 12 Preliminary Introduction to American Sign Language (Same as Women's and Gender 12 and Special 12)

This course introduces students to basic knowledge about American Sign Language and deaf people. Emphasis in this preliminary introduction to ASL is on developing rudimentary receptive, expressive and interactive skills through an intensive immersion in ASL. Students will also be introduced to deaf history, culture and politics. This course is designed to help nonsigners develop rudimentary skills, to introduce them to the complexity of ASL, and to cultivate interest in further study of the language.
Evaluation will be based on attendance, participation, quizzes, and a final project. Students will be expected to spend an hour outside of class each week viewing native ASL signers as part of their homework assignments.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15 (expected: 10).
Meeting time: afternoons; 3 two-hour meetings per week.
Cost to student: $70-$90.

Laurie Benjamin is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in multicultural and international education. Ms. Benjamin has taught deaf students at the secondary level. She is a nationally certified ASL interpreter with extensive experience in a wide range of interpreter settings including mental health, legal, and performance interpreting. In addition to working as a free-lance interpreter for the deaf, she is currently teaching ASL to students at Williamstown Elementary School.

MARITIME STUDIES

MAST 31 Senior Thesis: Maritime Studies
May be taken by students registered for Maritime Studies 493, 494.

MATHEMATICS and STATISTICS

Bridge is much more than a "game;" it is an intense intellectual and academic activity. We'll study, prepare, and play in as many bridge tournaments in the area as possible. Play will be followed by analysis, reading and writing up of lessons learned, which is an essential part of the study of bridge.
Evaluation will be based on participation in all activities and the writing.
Prerequisites: You have to know how to play bridge. Enrollment limit:15.
Cost to student: $100 for entry fees and one or two overnights. (And you provide your own food on the road.)
Meetings time: 6 hours of class time and 10 hours of tournament time each week (TBA days and evenings).

This course introduces the technical and creative aspects of photography and Photoshop for beginners. Topics include exposure, spot metering, depth of field, the rule of thirds, portraiture, and multiple exposures. Creative aspects of lighting and composition will be explored though slide lectures and critique of each others work. Students will master essential Photoshop techniques including blended exposures and layer masks. We will meet three times per week for two hours sessions. We will schedule one mandatory nature shoot in Greylock forest and one optional sunrise shoot. Most shooting will be done outside of class.
Evaluation will be based on class participation, completion of personal photo projects, and submission of an annotated portfolio containing an analysis of the technical and artistic strengths of selected photos. No experience with photography or Photoshop will be assumed.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:10.
Meetings time: afternoons.
Cost to student: students must supply their own SLR camera (digital or film) with automatic and manual settings. Anticipate spending $30 for textbook plus $150 with a film camera or $10 with a digital camera on film/processing.

MATH 12 Interpersonal Conflict Resolution (Same as Leadership Studies 15 and Psychology 15)

Think back to the most recent disagreement you had with a member of your family, a teacher, or a friend. What conflict style did you employ? Were you assertive or did you give in easily? Did you get angry and upset or were you calm and rational? Were you satisfied with the outcome or could you have done something to handle the situation better? What about the other person involved in the disagreement? Every day we observe and engage in these types of interpersonal conflicts. Rarely, though, do we take the time to analyze these conflicts and consider techniques for productive resolution. In this class, we will discuss the history and theory of interpersonal conflict, conflict resolution, and mediation. The class format will be a mixture of lecture, discussion and activities in which students will practice conflict resolution and mediation techniques.
Evaluation will be based on homework exercises, participation in class discussions and activities and a final 10-15 page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:12.
Cost to student: approximately $90 for books
Meeting times: mornings, six hours per week.

This course is an introduction to Pilates mat work. Often referred to as the first physical therapist, Joseph Pilates was dissatisfied with existing approaches to exercise at the turn of the last century. He studied both Eastern methods of exercise such as yoga which focused on relaxation and breathing and Western methods which concentrated on building strength and endurance. He combined different qualities of both methods in an attempt to create an ideal form of physical training. Pilates focuses on the core muscles: the abdominals and back. We will study the Pilates mat exercises in detail, including performance, physiology, breathing, muscular emphasis, and modifications. We will also discuss the philosophy behind the exercises. This course is intended for those students with little to no previous experience with Pilates, but with some dance or fitness background/experience.
Evaluation will be based primarily on class participation, weekly quizzes, and a final 10-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:10.
Meetings time: 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Monday-Thursday each week. (One hour Pilates class, one hour lecture.)
Cost to student: approximately $100 for equipment (including fitness ball, dynaband, and Pilates magic circle) and books.

MATH 14 Fantasy Novels of C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams (Same as English 28)

Both Lewis and Williams were members of The Inklings, the remarkable group of British authors and thinkers who met regularly at "The Eagle and Child" Pub in Oxford, where writers (including Tolkien) read their works in progress to one another. Lewis is well-known; the works of Williams have received less recognition, but were admired by W. H. Auden, Dorothy L. Sayers, and T. S. Eliot. Both Lewis and Williams approached their work as staunch Anglican Christians, and their point of view will be respected in this course; however, their novels can speak to the lives of all readers who are sensitive to their own world and to human relationships.
Readings will include the Ransom Trilogy of Lewis: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength (often called "the Charles Williams novel written by C.S. Lewis), and Williams's War in Heaven and Descent into Hell (which Lewis listed as one of the ten books which most influenced his own thinking). The month will conclude with Lewis's final novel Till We Have Faces.
Evaluation will be based on attendance and participation in all discussions. The final project will be a 10-to-20-page short story in the style of, incorporating some ideas of, or using literary techniques of the novels read. Alternatively, students may choose to write an expository or critical paper of about 15 pages relating some or all of the novels read to other fiction by these two authors or to works of comparable writers such as George MacDonald, Madeleine l'Engle, or J.K. Rowling.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:14.
Cost to student: $40-$70 for books.
Meetings time: mornings.

Creating fabric out of interlocking loops can be traced back to the Neolithic period, and knitted like artifacts 1600 to over 2000 years old have been found in Egypt, Peru, and Sweden. Knitting requires little machinery and can be done almost anywhere yet requires a significant amount of learned skill. Knitting techniques have been handed down through generations, shared in small groups, and transferred between cultures as trade routes emerged. The social history of knitting is a rich reflection of the history of culture.
This course examines the social history and technique of this important craft. We will examine the social history of knitting through a sequence of readings, lectures, and discussions. Reading list includes: No Idle Hands: The History of American Knitting, by Anne L. MacDonald, related articles provided by the instructor, and Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook, by Montse Stanley.
We will engage a series of project samples designed to introduce and improve skills of beginning knitters, starting with simple blanket squares, a knitted cap, and culminating in a final project of a basic sweater. Students will also be required to select and research some aspect of knitting and write a 10-page research paper. Topics will need pre-approval of the instructor.
Evaluation will be based on participation, projects and final a10-page research paper.
No prerequisites. Preference given to beginning knitters. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: three 2-hour evening periods every week.
Cost to student: approximately $70 for materials kit and $45 for textbooks.

Mary Johnson, M. Ed., an experienced knitter who has worked professionally for the NYC designers KnitWits, Lane Borgesia, and is currently a project knitter for Storey Publishing. Mrs. Johnson is a third grade teacher at Williamstown Elementary School.

If you like to perform on the stage or if you have always wanted to find out what it would be like-this is your opportunity! In this course we will explore basic acting techniques and methods. Improvisation and theater games will be used as a foundation to create characters in scenes and monologues. Participants will also investigate the basics of script analysis. The final will include a public presentation of the works in progress.
Requirements: class attendance is mandatory; contact hours will increase as rehearsals progress towards final performance. Evaluation will be based on participation and assignments.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:14. The selection process will include a brief essay.
Meeting time: mornings; 10 a.m.-12 p.m., five times per week.
Cost to student: $20 for text and $20 for possible theater tickets.

Amelia Adams is a regional actor who has performed in a variety of theatrical and commercial venues over the last fifteen years. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actor's Equity Association and the American Federation of Radio and Television actors.

This dance class will be based on the modern dance technique developed by Jennifer Muller, with whom I danced professionally for 5 years in New York City and in Europe. Jennifer Muller was a soloist in the dance company of Jos� Lim�n before she started her own company in 1974. She has added her own style of movement to the Lim�n technique, creating an expansive, free-flowing dance that is wonderful to do and to watch.
The class will be multi-leveled and open to both men and women alike. Previous dance experience preferred.
Students will have the opportunity to choreograph a short piece either as a soloist or in small groups.
We will finish the course with a short lecture-demonstration illustrating what we have learned.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:24.
Meeting time: 10 a.m. -12 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Cost to student: under $20.

Sylvia Logan received her B.A. in Slavic Literature from Stanford University. She danced professionally with the Jennifer Muller Dance Company, a modern company based in New York City for five years.

MUSIC

The story of the gypsy femme fatale Carmen still fascinates; in Western culture she exemplifies the seductive, exotic, independent and forbidden female who drives a fine upstanding man to a life of crime and finally murder. This course explores a broad array of tellings of this archetypal narrative, focusing on their multifaceted textual and musical constructions of individual and group identities, encompassing gender and sexuality, "Otherness", nationality and ethnicity, and socio-economic identification. We begin with Prosper Merimee's 1845 novella on which Bizet based his 1875 opera Carmen, and conclude with the MTV production Hip Hopera: Carmen starring Beyonce Knowles in the title role. In between these poles we will consider Bizet's opera as a stage work and then in various film transformations, including DeMille's silent film of 1915; the 1948 Hollywood version called The Loves of Carmen with Rita Hayworth; Preminger's 1954 film of Hammerstein's all-black musical Carmen Jones; Carlos Saura's flamenco version from 1983; and the contemporary Russian composer Shchedrin's 1991 modern dance version.
Evaluation will be based on class attendance and participation; and a 10 page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit 30; preference to first-years and sophomores.
Meeting time: three two-hour morning meetings per week.
Cost to student: $20 for reading packet.

This course will involve an intensive study of the history, theory, and interpretation of film music. We will begin by creatively considering how film and music might be united in the cinema and with introductory readings in film music theory and history. We will then focus our interpretive and analytical work and class discussions on selected films. While most of our attention will be devoted to the work of major composers and directors of American and European film (with possible examples from Japanese and Indian cinema), we will also consider more specialized subjects related to the instructor's research. Sample topics to be explored include: music and the silent film; Hollywood musicals; opera and film; Herrmann and Hitchcock; Rota and Fellini; music's role in cinematic propaganda; rock music video; Kubrick's musical decisions; psychoanalytic interpretations of film sound.
This course will meet for two hours three times a week in the morning. Students are also required to attend three 90-120 minute film screenings each week either in the late afternoon or early evening in addition to completing the assigned reading before each class meeting.
Evaluation will be based on active participation in class discussions and one 12- to 14-page paper or a creative film music project approved by the instructor.
No prerequisites, although prior experience in film studies or some musical background will enable students to engage more fully in the course's interpretive and analytical work.| Enrollment limit:15. Preference will be given to those applicants with demonstrated successful experience in music, film, or theater courses or with documented experience in film or multimedia creative work.
Meeting time: TWR, 10 a.m.-noon. Film screenings, MTW either in the late afternoon or early evening.
Cost to student: $60 for two paperback books and photocopies.

This Winter Study will give participants an opportunity to study and perform numbers for more than one singer in great American musicals. You have sung a solo, you have sung in chorus-now practice the exacting art of singing an ensemble on stage. Music from the recently revived Mitch Leigh/Joe Darion show Man of La Mancha will be the central focus. The course will culminate with a public performance of ensembles from the show including the finale. Other ensembles from Bernstein's West Side Story, or from European light opera models such as Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow may also be included. Singers, actors, and pianists are all welcome to participate.
Requirements: performing, writing a 10-page discursive paper, or some combination of the two approved by the teacher.
Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: afternoons; Mondays and Wednesdays.
Cost to student: none.

Keith Kibler has performed under some of the finest directors currently working including David Alden, Peter Sellars, Galina Vishnevskaya. He sang a major role in Kurt Weill's "Die Kleine Mahagonny" under Alvin Epstein with the American Repertory Theatre. He has been a featured soloist with the Boston Pops in American theater music. Keith Kibler is an adjunct teacher of singing at Williams College. He can be reached at kibler@sover.net

This course explores practical, theoretical and historical aspects of tuning and temperament. The need for temperaments-corrections and compromises to tuning systems with pure intervals-became urgent in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as changes in musical style (the rise of fixed-intonation keyboard instruments, the advent of major/minor keys and concomitant increase in modulatory range) made more apparent the incommensurability of pure-intoned intervals within a 12-note chromatic pitch space. Although the course will examine issues and practices from antiquity to the twentieth century, we will focus primarily on the many temperaments that arose in the seventeenth century, the practical musical issues that necessitated them, and the religious, philosophical, and scientific justifications for those corrections. Students will have the opportunity to construct and realize a variety of temperaments on a harpsichord and/or using CSound software.
Evaluation will be based on participation, small weekly assignments, and a final 10-page paper examining the effects and consequences of a historical tuning on the realization of a pertinent musical work.
Prerequisites: Music 103. Enrollment limit:12. Preference given to students with an interest in early music performance.
Meeting time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Cost to student: approximately $20 for photocopies/coursepack.

This course will explore the music of trumpeter/composer Miles Davis, a musician who changed the face of jazz as an instrumentalist as well as a unique composer and bandleader. The course will also look at the collaboration between pianist/composer/arranger Gil Evans and Miles Davis. Some of the compositions studied and played will be selections from the following recordings: Sketches Of Spain, Birth Of The Cool and Kind Of Blue. All instruments are welcome to participate in this ensemble.
The Miles Davis Story, a film by Mike Dibb, will be shown and discussed.
Students will be required to read: Miles Davis, The Definitive Biography by Ian Carr, published by Harper Collins Publishers in 1998.
Students should have the ability to competently play the music, plus permission of the instructor. Students may contact the instructor by email (ologon@aol.com) or phone (845-331-9385).
Participation in a concluding concert during the last week of Winter Study is required. Students will be evaluated on their performance at this concert.
Enrollment limit: 15.
Meeting time: 2-4 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. The course will meet three times a week for 2-hour sessions. Outside listening assignments and preparation of individual parts will also be required.
ill be expected to practice the material outside of class, and will also be evaluated on mastery of the material, class participation and attendance.
Cost to student: $50.

John Menegon is an Adjunct Teacher of Jazz Bass at Williams College, and a professional bassist, composer, arranger and recording artist.

This course will focus on learning how to write and perform songs in a contemporary style. Topics addressed will include song structure, how to create a lyric that communicates, vocal and instrument presentation, performing techniques, publicity for events, and today's music industry. This class will culminate in a public performance of material written during the course.
Each student will be expected to complete a minimum of two songs, both music and lyrics. One of these songs will be presented during the final performance, preferably by the student. If not, the student must arrange for someone else in the class to assist him or her.
Requirements: attendance at classes, feedback sessions and scheduled evening events is mandatory. Students will also be required to write a final 6- to 10-page paper on songwriting.
No prerequisites, although students with musical backgrounds and the ability to play an instrument may be given preference and should email the instructor (Bernice.Lewis@williams.edu). Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings,Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays for two-hour sessions.
Cost to student: $75 for books and xeroxing costs.

Bernice Lewis is an accomplished singer and songwriter who has performed her work throughout the country. She lives in Williamstown and has released five recordings of original material.

This study will introduce participants to the basic techniques of playing percussion instruments. Students with experience on other instruments, or who have played drums, will learn to play a variety of percussion instruments including drums, keyboard percussion such as marimba, vibraphone, and xylophone, orchestral percussion. experimental and homemade percussion, and some instruments from other musical cultures. Classes will involve group instruction, study of important works for percussion through scores and listening, the theory and history of the instruments, group improvisation, and regular rehearsal of a work for percussion ensemble. The project will culminate with a performance of a percussion ensemble work in collaboration with the percussion trio TimeTable. Students will be expected to practice individually in preparation for classes and the concert. Evaluation will focus on participation in class and preparation for the final concert.
Prerequisites: Students should already be proficient on an instrument (percussion or other) and read music. Enrollment limit:10.
Cost to student: $30 (for course pack materials). Meeting times to be determined.

Matthew Gold is based in New York City and is a member of the TimeTable percussion trio and Sequitur. He performs with the Ahn Trio, Speculum Musicae, Counter)Induction, the S.E.M. Ensemble, the Glass Farm Ensemble, and has been a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. He also performs regularly with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Westchester Philharmonic, and on Broadway. He has recorded for, among others, EMI Classics, Koch International, Albany Records, and CRI.

This course covers some of the most relevant "classical" composers of Cuban Music history. We will study the composers' life and work through the analysis of some of their relevant compositions. Class discussions will include the relationship of these works with elements borrowed from Cuban popular music and how the composer incorporates these elements into his/her own artistic expression. We will also discuss the influence of the European and Afro-Cuban traditions on this repertoire.
Evaluation will be based on class attendance and participation; and a 10 page paper and presentation of this paper during the final week of Winter Study. The performance of one of the works studied in class is not required but it is encouraged and can be taken into consideration as part of the final presentation. Possibilities for performance include short piano pieces by Manuel Saumel, Ignacio Cervantes, or Lecuona, guitar pieces by Leo Brouwer, and a percussion ensemble piece by Amadeo Roldan.
Prerequisites: The ability to read music and to follow music scores.
Enrollment limit: 15 students.
Meeting times: T-W-H (6 hours per week), afternoons. Students are also required to listen to additional pieces not discussed in class during the mornings and to watch a film focused on Cuban culture.
Cost to student: $30 Reading Packet.

The growing popular interest in opera over the last several decades has accompanied an often radical shift in how these artworks are brought to the stage. In Europe, and increasingly in the US, directors and dramaturges have moved away from traditional "robes and spears" stagings of canonical works and embraced a more interpretative approach influenced by Marxism, deconstruction, and other critical schools of thought. This course will examine the practical, aesthetic, and ideological issues involved in bringing this complicated art form to life on the stage. We will begin with a practical consideration of the economic and demographic pressures influencing modern opera houses in their approach towards operatic production. We will then turn to recorded live performances of operas by Mozart and Wagner, as it is these canonical works which have received the most sustained and varied engagement by modern directors. Discussion will center around multiple stagings of these operas, as well as readings which address the cultural or ideological elements of the works which stagings may attempt to highlight or repress. The class will close with a brief consideration of opera films.
Requirements: active participation in class; short oral presentations; 10-page essay.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15.
Meeting time: 2 days per week, but independent or group screenings outside of class are required.
Cost to student: $25 course packet; purchase of opera productions on video or DVD is optional.

Can only be taken IN ADDITION to a regular WSP course. CONTACT THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT ABOUT SIGNING UP FOR THIS COURSE!!!
Intended for students who are continuing Music 251-258 lessons taken during fall semester. Must be taken in addition to a regular WSP course. Individual lessons in voice, keyboard, and most orchestral and jazz instruments, offered during Winter Study. Four lessons, given at approximately one week intervals (TBA). Student is expected to practice at least two hours per day. All individual instruction involves an extra fee which is partially subsidized by the department. Contact the Music Office for contract/permission forms which must be submitted in order to take this course.
Prerequisites: permission of Department Chair and Instructor, completion of Music 251 or higher during the previous semester.

NEUROSCIENCE

PHILOSOPHY

Chess is one of the noblest and most fascinating of human endeavors. We will examine chess in many of its facets: its history, philosophy and literature. We will look at the art of chess and the art that chess has inspired. Above all, we will work together on improving our playing skills: we will study chess openings, middle games and endgames, and engage in continual tournament play. One of our tournaments will be an official United States Chess Federation [USCF] tournament; thus each student will acquire a USCF rating. Students who are not already members of the USCF will be required to join. Evaluation will be based on class participation and problem assignments.
Prerequisites: All students should know the rules of chess and be able to read chess notation. Enrollment limit:20. If the class is overenrolled, students will be selected according to playing strength, as indicated by USCF ratings, results in the College chess club, or other measures.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to student: $100 ($50 for USCF membership, $50 for books).

"Not one single poet has ever sung a song in praise of so ancient and so powerful a god as Love (Er�s)." So laments the character Pheadrus in Plato's Symposium. What follows are a series of speeches in celebration of this god, which together comprise one of Plato's most beautiful (and humorous) dialogues. And yet this same Plato seems to have a completely different attitude toward Er�s in the Republic. In the few passages where it surfaces at all, the tone is strikingly negative. It is the tyrant-who represents the completely unjust man-who is afflicted with Er�s. In this seminar we are get to the bottom of these apparently schizophrenic accounts through careful reading and thorough discussion of the relevant material, namely the Symposium and parts of the Phaedrus as well a collection of shorter passages from other dialogues. What exactly does it mean to be a Platonic lover? How is love to be explained in terms of (other) desire? What is the connection (if any) between love and morality? These will be among the central questions guiding us in our investigation.
Requirements: Active participation in discussion and four 3-page response papers .
There are no prerequisites, but students are encouraged to read the Symposium and the Phaedrus once prior to the start of the winter study period.
Meeting time: afternoons, twice per week.

PHIL 13 Sex, Marriage, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Legal Regulation of Sex and Marriage in the Contemporary U.S.

Most Americans would agree with J.S. Mill that, all things being equal, individuals should be free to pursue their own individual good in their own way. This conviction is at the heart of political liberalism, and, one might argue, of America's conception of itself. Yet state and federal government in the U.S. has always imposed considerable legal restrictions on its citizens' sex and love lives, regulating their choice of marriage and sexual partners as well as the sexual practices they engage in with those partners. (Only in 1965 did the Supreme Court rule it unconstitutional for states to proscribe the use of contraceptives; many states have held (or hold) laws against sodomy, variously defined as anal or oral sex.)
The proper scope and purpose of these regulations has come under intense scrutiny in the last two years thanks to the 2003 Supreme Court decision to overturn state laws banning sodomy (Lawrence v. Texas) and the 2004 decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court to permit same-sex marriage (Goodridge v. Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health). People from every part of the political spectrum are considering anew the government's role in regulating sexual and marital practices.
In this course, we will deepen and refine our own conception of this role by studying highlights from the federal case-law leading up to the Lawrence and Goodridge decisions (such as Griswold v. Connecticut, Bowers v. Hardwick, and Loving v. Virginia) together with selections from the impressive body of critical commentary that has appeared in the popular press. At the end of the term students will compose an editorial piece of their own suitable for publication in a newspaper or journal.
Prerequisites: Interest in sex, marriage, or laws regulating them.
Evaluation will be based on class participation and presentations as well as editorial writing. Enrollment limit:15. Preference to students with some background in philosophy or political theory.
Meeting time: afternoons, twice/week.
Cost to student: none.

What drives athletes to excel? What is the psychological, physical, economic and emotional price the individual athlete and the culture pays for such excellence? How does a country put its own unique mark on a sport? Does the Greek ideal of sport infuse todays athletes and teams? What current values threaten the existence of many of our professional sports teams in our major cities?
This course will explore these questions and ask others as we read variously from books like; You Gotta Have Wa, Friday Night Lights, Take Time For Paradise, Money Ball, Golf In The Kingdom and Best Sports Writing o f 2004, and watch movies such as; When They Were Kings, Hoop Dreams, Hoosiers, Remember The Titans, Chariots Of Fire, A League of Their Own, Breaking Away, Wings, and A River Runs Through It.
Requirements: one 10-page paper, class participation and regular attendance.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: ?
Meeting time: ?
Cost to student: $60-$75 for books.

Writer and former Williamstown resident, David Raffeld has taught Winter Term classes in the departments of Religion, Philosophy and English, and has been a Writer-In-Residence in The Department of Theatre.

PHIL 18 Williams in North Adams: The Entrepreneurship of Shitake (Same as Biology 18, Economics 18 and Environmental Studies 18)

Think you could turn an abandoned textile mill into a successful mushroom business? You would have to understand the biology of fungi, the science of indoor climate control, and industrial engineering. You would have to raise large amounts of capital, and be willing to risk it on the proposition that you could grow large quantities of high-quality product at a profitable margin. You would have to minimize the costs of your raw materials and other inputs, and optimize your marketing and sales. And you would have to be willing to do a lot of hard, dirty work.
In this course students will learn about, and actively participate in, all aspects of the Delftree Corporation, which for the past 20 years has grown approximately 5% of the nation's shitake mushrooms inside a 100 year-old factory building in North Adams, Massachusetts. Students will pick and package mushrooms, assist with the operation of proprietary technology (which may require a willingness to experience the night shift), and study the complex issues involved in developing, sustaining, and expanding a commodity-based agricultural business.
Evaluation will be based on attendance, enthusiasm, and a substantial oral presentation made on the final day of Winter Study to Bill Greenwald, owner and CEO of the Delftree Corporation.
Student selection criteria: Preference to those demonstrably committed to the project.
We will meet each morning in Williamstown and drive to North Adams, where we will spend the day (returning to campus in time for dinner).
Enrollment limit: 8.
Cost to student: reading packet, daily lunch money (or bring your own lunch).

Students in this course will spend winter study in Morocco. Morocco presents a compelling blend of historical influences and modern world currents. Threads of Islam, Arab traditions, and the heritage of the native Berber people are woven into a distinctive cultural tapestry, while traces of French colonialism can still be seen in the political and social structure. Morocco is at the intersection of the West, the Middle East, and Africa. Travel there is therefore a powerful way to introduce intellectual themes that require and reward a subtle blending of insight from history, political science, religion, and philosophy.
We will take the first steps in engaging some of these challenging topics in order to enable independent study facilitated by serious and multifaceted exposure to the country. For the first two weeks, students will live with Moroccan families in two quite different cities, the cosmopolitan capital of Rabat and the traditional center of Islamic learning, Fez. We will gather several times each week for lectures and presentations. In the third week of the course we will take a group trek through Berber villages and the Atlas Mountains on our way to legendary Marrakech.
Students will be expected to attend all seminars, lead a group presentation, and complete a substantial research paper (10-15 pages). The presentation and research paper will be occasions to explore a special topic in depth including, for instance, justice and gender, art, literature, colonial studies, or Islam.
No prerequisites. Arabic is the official spoken language of Morocco, and French is spoken widely. While desirable, neither is required. Enrollment limit:15. Preference will be given to majors and prospective majors in Religion, Philosophy, Political Science, and Women's and Gender Studies, and to concentrators in International Studies.
Cost to student: approximately $2900.

PHYSICS

This course will examine the art and science of holography. It will introduce modern optics at a level appropriate for a non-science major, giving the necessary theoretical background in lectures and discussion. Demonstrations will be presented and students will make several kinds of holograms in the lab. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, we have 7 well-equipped holography darkrooms available for student use. At the beginning of WSP, the class will meet for lecture and discussion three mornings a week and for lab 2 afternoons a week. Later classes will be mainly laboratory.
Students will be evaluated on the basis of regular attendance, completion of 4 laboratory exercises, and a holography laboratory project or a 10-page paper. Attendance at all classes and labs is required for a passing grade.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:30. Preference will be given to students with no previous college course in physics more advanced than Physics 100.
Cost to student: about $50 for holographic film, chemicals, and photocopies.

Representational drawing is not merely a gift of birth or a magical ability granted by angels, but a learnable skill. If you ever wanted to draw, but doubted you had the ability or believed you could not learn, then this course is for you. This intensive course utilizes discoveries in brain research to teach representational drawing. By using simple techniques and extensive exercises you will discover and develop the perceptual shift from your symbol based left hemisphere to your visually based right hemisphere. This cognitive shift enables you to accurately see and realistically represent the physical world. You will learn to draw a convincing portrait, self-portrait, and still life. This course is designed to develop your powers of observation and enhance your innate creative problem solving abilities, which are applicable in any field. Students need no previous artistic experience, just the willingness and desire to learn a new skill. Students will be expected to attend and participate in all sessions. They will also be required to keep a sketchbook recording their progress and complete a final project.
Evaluations will be based on participation, effort, and development. Students will be required to produce explanatory/analytical text to accompany their drawing assignments.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:30, with preference given to juniors and seniors.
Meeting time: The course will meet three times per week in two sections of 15, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. There will be about 10 hours lecture and group exercises with substantial additional independent student work. There also will be an exhibition of coursework on the final day of Winter Study.
Cost to student: cost of text and (approximately) $15 for drawing materials.

Stella Ehrich holds an MFA in painting from Bennington College. She teaches drawing at Bennington and other local colleges. She has had solo exhibits from Rutland, VT to Dallas, Texas to Mobile, Alabama.

The purpose of this course will be to provide an understanding of the basic function of the major components of the modern automobile. Through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on experience, individuals will learn basic maintenance of an automobile. In addition, students will be expected to study in depth one of the major automotive systems which include carburetor or fuel-injection systems, the lubrication and cooling system, the electrical system, the steering, brake and suspension system, and the power train for both manual and automatic transmissions.
The course will meet two hours a day, three times a week in the morning for classroom instruction. In addition, students will meet at the Flamingo Motors in Williamstown one evening each week for practical demonstrations and hands-on activity. Students will be required to attend class regularly, read assigned material from the text, actively participate in work at the garage, and pass written midterm and final examinations.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:30. The class will be broken into three sections for lab work. Preference given to seniors.
Cost to student: approximately $45 for text.

Several members of the department will have student projects available dealing with their own research or that of current senior thesis students. Approximately 35 hours per week of study and actual research participation will be expected from each student.
Students will be required to keep a notebook and write a five-page paper summarizing their work. Those interested should consult with members of the department as early as possible in the registration period or before to determine details of projects then expected to be available.
Prerequisites: permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 1 or 2 per project.
Meeting time: to be arranged with instructor.
Cost to student: none.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

POLITICAL SCIENCE

In the late 1940's a new source of modern art sprang into existence. Inuit art (which includes the following genre of art: sculpture, graphic arts, as well as jewelry, wall hangings, pottery and other modes) is a very modern development. Since its beginning it has gained world-wide attention. There are galleries of Inuit art not only through out Canada and the United States but also Europe and Asia. Inuit art is included in the collections of major museums throughout the world. The production of Inuit art developed in response to the sudden change in Inuit life from nomadic subsistence in the northern arctic regions of Canada to fixed settlements on Baffin Island and regions around Hudson Bay and the consequent need to create a cash-based economy. The course will cover the development of Inuit art focusing on the two major forms, graphic and sculpture from the major artists (among them Kenojuak, Oonark, George Arlook, Pudlo Pudlat, Peter Sevoga, Latcholassie, Parr, and Pauta). The course will explore the changing character of Inuit life and governance (the Canadian government recently completed a major reconstitution granting much of the people of the arctic north autonomy as a self-governing region called Nunavut). In addition to the technical development of the art, its history and the biography of the major artists, we will be exploring the cultural context of Inuit art to the Inuit as well as to the international art market. The course will have available major examples of Inuit art, movies, documentaries and visits by Inuit art dealers. There will be assigned readings and a paper assignment with students choosing from the following topics: 1) a study of a particular work of art; 2) a study of a particular theme in Inuit art; 3) the work of a particular artist; 4) some aspect of Inuit life or politics; 5) or economic analyses (for example, using Inuit art auction results over the years).
Evaluation will be based on a 10-page paper, class attendance and participation. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:25. Preference to upper class students.
Meeting time: afternoons, three classes per week.
Cost to student: $50 for readings.

This course will examine the meaning and uses of the classical Chinese text, The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. Students will consider Sun Tzu's insights both in the context of ancient Chinese philosophy and in terms of their contemporary relevance. The first half of the course will concentrate on placing Sun Tzu in historical and philosophical context; the second half will examine how The Art of War has been used in a variety of modern fields.
Evaluation will include mandatory class attendance and participation, and a 10-page paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15. Seniors and juniors will have priority.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: price of books.

George Orwell was a noted critic, political commentator, activist, and satirist in the middle of the twentieth century. He wrote about political language, trade unions, the Spanish civil war, totalitarianism and deceit, and political ideals gone bad, among other things. This course will read several of his books and a number of his essays, partly to look for relevance to our age, mostly to learn why his manner of thought is enduring.
Requirements: a 10-page paper and active participation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: books.

Democracy requires citizen participation. Because of this, scholars and pundits have expressed alarm about the American public's apparent mistrust of, and apathy toward, politics and the political process. An engaged citizenry does not appear deux ex machina however. Citizens learn their roles from a variety of formal and informal institutions. This class uses the medium of film to explore the messages conveyed by popular culture about citizens' interactions with the state. In addition to some background reading, we will analyze such films as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, To Kill a Mockingbird, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Norma Rae, Born on the Fourth of July, Citizen Ruth, The Siege, The Insider, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Erin Brockovitch, and The Matrix.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15 students. Meeting time: Mornings. Evaluation based on participation and a 10-page paper. Cost: approximately $50 for books and packet.

In 1996, tourism finally surpassed oil as the world's most valuable export. It accounts for the bulk of foreign revenue received by most countries: the two dozen small island countries list their exports as "tourism, fish," and presidents and prime ministers from the world's wealthiest and most powerful countries-men and women with the ability to launch nuclear war-worry that travel restrictions arising from the war on terror will cost over a billion dollars in lost duck boat revenue and such. Tourism has been lauded as the perfect form of environmentally sustainable development, derided as a degrading enterprise that sells happy tropical primitives to jaded white-collar workers, advocated as a popular avenue to global understanding, and condemned as the ultimate commodification-of experience. This class examines international tourism through theory and case studies. We will read Dean MacCannell, The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class, Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place, and Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air, and go down to the city to tour and try to understand the tourists.
Requirements: two 6-page papers, mandatory class attendance, field trip to NYC.
No prerequisites.
Enrollment limit 15; preference to juniors.
Cost to student: approximately $50 for books.

Fifty years ago in January, Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC started the movement that typifies the struggle for racial justice and the high point of the protest movement associated with King. This class will use that campaign as a starting point to reexamine the movement's characteristics and compare that to the way memories of that movement are shaped and are likely to be shaped at this Jubilee anniversary. The class will review efforts to memorialize the movement and the variety of media used (print, music, film, internet, museum and statutes). The class will focus on two other cases - W. E. B. Du Bois and Bayard Rustin-where communities have been especially ambivalent due to an admixture of concerns involving radicalism, sexuality, and patriotism.
Enrollment limit 15. Preference to juniors and seniors.
Requirements: 10-page paper.
No prerequisites.
Meeting time: Mornings.
Cost to student: $50.00 for books.

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, the U.S. Department of State's list of "Independent States in the World" designates 191 countries as "States." It also lists exactly one entity-Taiwan- as "Other." What exactly is Taiwan, in both the international realm and in various domestic political realms, and what makes it unique? Can Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) unite peacefully? If Taiwan declares itself to be an independent state, will the PRC make good on its oft-repeated threat to go to war with Taiwan? And how, either now or in the event of a military crisis, can the United States best balance its own interests with its promises to both the PRC and Taiwan?
Requirements: attendance, one 10-page paper.
No prerequisites. Course involves international and domestic politics, international law, and military
affairs, but no previous knowledge of any of these areas will be assumed. Enrollment limit:14. Preference: random lottery.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to student: approximately $25 for readings.

The aim of this course is to provide a sense of the personal, theoretical, and institutional characteristics of judicial decision making at the highest level. At the beginning of the course, all students will be furnished with a set of the briefs for an actual pending Supreme Court case. Four students (two per side) will be assigned to make oral arguments to the "Court," which will be composed of eight students, each playing the role of a sitting justice, and the instructor, who will act as chief justice for purposes of coordination. After hearing arguments, the "Court" will confer and prepare majority and other opinions and announce them in "open court" at the conclusion of the term.
Evaluation will be based on the overall credibility in assigned role; effective argument, questions, performance in conference, drafting, etc. and a 3-to 5-page "reflective" essay in which students will be expected to identify and comment on some aspect of the work of the Court.
Prerequisites: permission of instructor. Enrollment limit:12. Preference to students who have completed one or more courses in related areas or have background in speech, debate or drama.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to student: materials fee, approximately $33.

Jay Nelson '70 is a member of the Texas and District of Columbia bars and has taught at the University of Texas School of Law.
Tom Sweeney '70 is a partner in a New York City law firm and practices in both state and federal court.

Over the last twenty years, graphic novels and comic books have emerged within popular culture as an important site of political critique and commentary. Pushing the limits of what comic books could or should be, these works directly and indirectly explored a wide range of questions about power, responsibility, accountability, violence, fear, freedom, and toleration. Some directly address real world political situations, but many raise these themes indirectly. The works that will be read represent outstanding artistic and literary examples of the genre which directly raise such political issues. This course uses these graphic novels as the basis for discussing the political issues. The works to be read might (depending on availability other titles may be substituted or added) include Dave Sim's Cerebus, Alan Moore's Watchmen and V for Vendetta, Steve Darnall and Alex Ross's Uncle Sam, Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan, Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns and 300, Mark Waid and Alex Ross's Kingdom Come, Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, Art Spiegelman's Maus, Marjan Satrapi's Persepolis, and Joe Sacco's Palestine. The reading load will not be light-don't be fooled by the fact that you are reading comic books!
Evaluation will be based on a 10-page paper on a topic to be determined in consultation with the professor OR four 2-3 page papers; regular and constructive class participation is also required.
The course will meet 4 days a week for a total of 6 hours.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings, 4 days a week for a total of 6 hours.
Cost to student: approximately $150.

PSCI 21 Fieldwork in Public and Private Non-Profits (Same as Environmental Studies 21)

This course is an internship experience in which students work full-time in a governmental or nongovernmental (including voluntary, activist, and grassroots) organization. Students may find internships in government and nonprofit organizations in which their work involves significant involvement with public issues. Examples include: town government offices; state or federal administrative offices such as environmental agencies or housing authorities; interest groups that lobby government such as the ACLU or Natural Resources Defense Council; nonprofit organizations such as think tanks or service providers such as Habitat for Humanity; and grassroots, activist or community development organizations such as Greenpeace or neighborhood associations. The instructor will work with each student to arrange an internship; such arrangements must be made in advance of the Winter Term. Students should first make their own contacts with an institution or agency and the instructor and other members of the Environmental Studies and Political Science Departments are available to help students find placements, if necessary. Each student's internship mentor shall send a confirmation letter to the instructor verifying the internship and describing the nature of the work to be performed by the intern. Students will read a few short articles distributed at the beginning of Winter Term and must agree to keep a journal, maintain weekly contact with the instructor, and write a final paper summarizing and reflecting upon the experience. A group meeting of all students will occur after winter study to discuss the experiences.
Requirements: internship work; satisfactory evaluation from the institutional sponsor; 10 page final paper; participation in final meeting.
At the time of registration, interested students should send a resume and letter of interest to Professor Gardner.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15
Cost to student: approximately $15 for readings, student covers transportation costs to and from internship site.

The Gaudino Fund offers four students the opportunity to carry out projects that involve critical, reflective, experiential learning. Each student selected for this course will register for Political Science 23, but will work independently of other students in the course. Each student will have his or her own faculty sponsor who will help shape and monitor the project. Professor McAllister and the Gaudino Board of Trustees will select the four students. The Board places a premium on proposals that foster the development of habits of mind that illuminate direct experience, undertaken preferably in social milieux previously unfamiliar to applicants. Students' projects must be academically rigorous and focused on intellectual problems worked out carefully with faculty sponsors. Projects must also entail systematic self-reflective examinations of how students' experiences affected them personally. Preference will be given to projects unconnected with regular course work.
Professor McAllister will meet with the students as a group before and after January. The Gaudino Fund will defray expenses for all students in the course up to $1000 per student.

PSYCHOLOGY

A dramatic shift in the laws and values shaping the participation of persons with disabilities in American society has led to motorized carts in Professional Golf Association tournaments and modified exam procedures for some college students. With the help of guest speakers who themselves have disabilities as well as through readings and films, we will explore past and present understandings of disabilities (physical, sensory, cognitive, mental health) and the changing responses to those who have them. Each student will conduct an investigation, using interviews and site visits, to learn how current understandings of disabilities have impacted a field in which they are interested. Alternatively, a student may focus an inquiry on his or her own disability or that of a family member. The underlying premise of this course is that we no longer expect the individual with a disability to "overcome her/his handicap." Rather, it is the role of citizens and leaders to figure out creative ways to remove barriers to participation and creatively accommodate those who have different ways of learning, communicating, or getting around. This is not a burden but an adventure.
Among the readings will be the book, No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement (Shapiro, 1993) and personal narratives written by persons with disabilities or their families.
The cost to students of books and article reprints will be approximately $60.00.
Evaluation will be based on class participation, a final 10-page paper, and an oral presentation about your investigation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: afternoon.

Dale Borman Fink earned his B.A. from Harvard and his Ph.D. in special education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Making a Place for Kids with Disabilities (2000, Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers) and the creator of a popular workshop for teachers called "Environmental Deficit Disorder: Are You Creating the Behavior Problems You Want to Avoid?"

The meaning of play in the young child's life will be considered both through readings and practical experience. The group will discuss several theoretical approaches to play, and each student will work mornings or afternoons with children in natural play settings, e.g. nursery school or day-care center. A journal relating reading and experience will be kept, and a final 10-page paper, relating theories of play to the student's observations of children at play will be written.
No prerequisites, but interested students must consult with the instructor prior to registration. Enrollment limited to number of available placements in children's programs.
Cost to student: none
Meeting time: mornings

In this course, students will learn how paying attention to nighttime dreams can help solve daytime problems and lead to increased self-understanding, in support of living a more conscious and creative life. Many practical and effective techniques for understanding dreams have been developed since Freud published his groundbreaking book, The Interpretation of Dreams, in 1900. This course will give students the opportunity to learn and practice these techniques, using class members' dreams as well as published dream accounts. Class time will focus on working with dreams; assigned readings will cover the major schools of thought in the history of dream interpretation, as well as provide illustrations of various dreamwork techniques. We will also consider the growing body of research in psychology and neurophysiology and what this data contributes to the understanding of dream formation, function and interpretation.
Evaluation will be based on weekly assignments, participation in class, and a final 10-page analytical paper.
We will meet three times a week for 2 1/2 hour classes. Requirements include assigned readings, keeping a dream journal, and practicing dreamwork techniques learned in class.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:10.
Meeting time: afternoons (M-W-Th 1:00-3:30)
Cost to student: approximately $50 for reading materials.

Nancy Grace, M.A. has been teaching about dreams for 15 years. She has done research and published articles with sleep and dream researcher Ernest Hartmann, M.D., and has trained extensively in the group dreamwork process with Jeremy Taylor, D.Min., and also with Montague Ullman, M.D. She is on the board of directors of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, and on the faculty of the New England Dreamwork Institute.

The concept of mental illness (or "mental disorder") pervades clinical psychology and psychiatry. Clinicians even borrow a vocabulary of illness from medicine: We use words like treatment, recovery, and relapse; we make diagnoses; we write case reports. But is there any objective standard by which certain psychological patterns can be called abnormality, disorder, or illness? For example, is there a single scientific standard by which we can reject egregious diagnoses like drapetomania - defined in 1854 as an abnormal compulsion of some slaves to try to escape - while retaining seemingly important diagnoses like schizophrenia? As Kendell notes, a long and vital debate persists over "whether [mental] disease and illness are based on value judgments, or whether they are value-free scientific terms". We, too, will wrestle with whether mental illness is more of a scientific or sociopolitical concept. We will consider how the idea of mental illness has been framed cross-culturally and historically; examine the strengths and weaknesses of diverse contemporary definitions; and try to define it to our personal satisfaction. Students may select any appropriate topic for their final written report. Prerequisite: Psychology 252.
Requirements/evaluation: four 1-page reaction papers, a 10-page final report, and active participation in class, including a panel-style debate.
Meeting time: 1-3 PM Tues, Wed, Thurs. Wednesdays we meet for films and guest speakers only. Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Cost to student: approximately $20 for reading packet.

This course will review substance abuse in the college context, reviewing surveys of substance use patterns among college students and examining college responses to the "problem." Students will read articles, write journal entries, give short presentations, hear guest speakers, participate in an off-campus field trip or two, and submit a final paper. Topics to be covered include stages of change, addiction and recovery, basic alcohol and other drug information, substance abuse and the legal system and leisure counseling, all with the focus on college-age students. This course is a lecture/discussion course.
Evaluation: Students will be graded on the content and quality of their work submitted in a final 10- to 15-page paper. Final papers can include thoughts and responses to classes, readings, guest speakers, course activities, field trips, and outside events attended as substance free leisure activities; insights from journal entries; and/or responses from completed reading/viewing of suggested books or movies.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit : 24.
Meeting time: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to noon, plus some evening activities and possibly one weekend event.
Cost to student: $40 for course material.

Laini Sporbert has an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology, with a specialty in Addictions Counseling, and has been the Substance Abuse Educator/Counselor at Williams College since 1997. She previously worked at other colleges doing substance abuse education, prevention and counseling, and also has experience in coalition and community building, and promoting health and wellness in college and community populations.

PSYC 15 Interpersonal Conflict Resolution (Same as Leadership Studies 15 and Mathematics 12)

PSYC 16 The Examined Life-Using Mindfulness and Creative Expression to Increase Self-knowledge

This course offers students an opportunity to explore their own thoughts, feelings, attitudes and motivations with the goal of increasing self-awareness and self-knowledge. The central concepts of mindfulness and meditation will be introduced, as they relate to mental and physical health and well-being, including the management of stress. A field trip to the Kripalu Center will be included in the class. Students will be required to keep a creative journal for the duration of the course, and will be asked to choose entries to share with fellow participants. In addition, a variety of experiential exercises will be offered, including art expression, creative writing exercises and discussion of dreams and dream analysis. Students will also be given the opportunity to increase self-awareness through completion of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Strong Interest Inventory, the Attributional Style Questionnaire, and the COPE. The influence of dispositional outlook and coping style will also be discussed.
At the end of this course, students will know more about their own thoughts, feelings, interests and motivations. They will have learned basic meditation techniques and some additional skills for stress management. They will see the value in examined, mindful living and have some skills to continue the process of self-discovery.
Evaluation will be based on 1) class attendance and participation, 2) keeping a creative journal and 3) completion of a final paper (10 pages) or project.
Prerequisites: students considering this WSP should note that the nature of some of the experiential exercises and group processing calls for modest levels of self-disclosure. Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: MWF 10 am to 12:30 pm.
Cost to student: approximately $60 for books and materials.

Lucille Larney, Ph.D., is a consulting psychologist in the Psychological Counseling Services at Williams College. A Registered Art Therapist, she has a Masters in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from SUNY-Albany. Her research interests include career development, wellness, and creativity.

Students interested in teaching may submit applications for a Winter Study assignment as a teacher's aide at Mt. Greylock Regional High School or at the Williamstown Elementary School. Those accepted will work under the supervision of a regular member of the teaching staff and submit a report on their work at the end of the Winter Study Period. This project involves a four-week commitment to full-time affiliation with the school. Interested students should consult before winter study registration with Professor Sandstrom, Bronfman 315. She will assist in arranging placements and monitor students' progress during the four-week period. Criteria for pass include full time affiliation with the school and a final 10-page report. The final report should summarize the student's experiences and reflections as drawn from a daily journal.
Prerequisite: approval of Professor Sandstrom is required. Enrollment limited to number of places available at the two participating schools.
Cost to student: none.

Students interested in a full-time January placement in a mental health, social service or applied psychology (e.g., advertising, law) setting should first make their own contacts with an institution or agency to work full time during Winter Study. They should also check with the course instructor about the suitability of the proposed placement, and should arrange to obtain a letter from a sponsor at the institution who will outline and supervise the student's duties during January. The student must agree to keep a journal and to submit a final paper summarizing and reflecting upon the experiences outlined in the journal.
Requirements: satisfactory evaluation from the institutional sponsor and a 10-page final paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 20.
Cost to student: none.

RELIGION

This course exposes students to the themes of traditional Christian theology (i.e., to the doctrine of God, Christology, and theological anthropology) by means of historical survey. It emphasizes the interplay between the philosophical-intellectual context of an era and the formulation of belief. Figures studied include Origen, Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin.
This course should appeal especially to Religion majors and Philosophy majors. But, it may have appeal to History majors (especially those concerned with intellectual history). Finally, because of Western and Eastern reliance upon Christian beliefs and imagery, the course may appeal to Literature and Art History majors.
This is an introductory level course. While some background in the Christian scriptures would be helpful, it will not be presumed. Also helpful-but not presumed-is acquaintance with ancient philosophy, especially Aristotle and/or neo-Platonism.
The course would meet at least ten times for 1 1/2 hours. (preferably mornings; three times/week; due to other commitments, it cannot begin before 9:30 a.m.)
The method will be primarily lecture, with discussion as time and interest allow. Obviously many topics will be left out; therefore, students are encouraged to explore some issue or topic generally related to the interface of Christianity with their own major. Alternatively, they may investigate a figure or topic not directly addressed in the course.
Evaluation will be based upon a 10-page research paper.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 25. Preference to Religion and Philosophy majors.
Meeting time: ?.
Cost to student: approximately $90 for reading materials.

The instructor, a member of the Society of Jesus, is Administrator of Sts. Patrick & Raphael parish in Williamstown. He has studied at the College of the Holy Cross, Fordham University, The Weston Jesuit School of Theology, The Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, The New School for Social Research. He has been Lecturer in Philosophy at the College of the Holy Cross and Visiting Instructor in Philosophy at Fairfield University.

This class provides an orientation to yoga and builds a foundation for an effective and rewarding personal yoga practice. Each class begins with centering and discussion of selected readings on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras,providing a historical, cultural, and philosophical background for yoga. The second part of each class is an extended yoga practicum where students will learn and refine yoga poses including standing poses, vinyasa (flow), inversions, abdominals, hip-openers, backbends, twists, forward bends, and restoratives. In this way the class develops lung capacity and builds strength, flexibility, and awareness. Students receive individualized attention on how to work with principles of alignment in their particular bodies, express poses with balanced energy, and embody heart qualities. Yoga training is complementary to sports, athletics, and dance, aids in classroom and study, gives tools for handling stress, and cultivates a sense of well-being and balance.
Evaluation will be based on attendance and participation in all classes and sessions, 4 three-page essays on Yoga Sutras; documentation of daily personal practice, and participation in public yoga demonstration.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:24.
Meeting time: afternoons; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 1:30-3:30p.m.
Cost to student: $35 for Yoga Sutras, yoga mat, strap, block, and blanket.

Natasha Judson, M.Ed. R.Y.T., has been practicing yoga for over twenty years and meditation for fifteen. She trained in Iyengar and Anusara yoga and is an affiliated Anusara yoga teacher. She practices meditation in Thai and Tibetan traditions and completed an internship in Mindfulness Bases Stress Reduction at UMASS Medical School. She began teaching yoga in 1999 and currently offers classes through her business Sunflower Yoga in Williamstown, and at Frog Lotus Yoga, Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union school district, and Southwestern Vermont Health Care Women's and Children's Services.

ROMANCE LANGUAGES

FRENCH

Students registered for 101-102 are required to attend and pass the sustaining program during the Winter Study period. There are three 50-minute meetings per week.
Meeting time: mornings; 9-9:50 a.m.

RLFR 12 Paris-Dakar: Stories of Sports Cars and Much More... (Same as Comparative Literature 12 and International Studies 12)

Paris-Dakar is the world's most prestigious and famous desert rally. Every January since 1977, four hundred drivers have competed against each other in a twenty day race over 6,500 miles. Supporters describe it as the last great adventure a human being can undertake, taking on what seem like impossible odds. Critics point to the environmental damage of the race, vehicular accidents and their African casualties.
In this class, we will discuss the controversies of this very famous race, watch sections of it on television, and research the landscapes and countries affected by it. Our main text will be a collection of short stories called Paris-Dakar: Autres Nouvelles. As the editor of the stories explains, if one can travel Paris-Dakar by car, by motorcycle, by 4X4, why can't one travel by words? These texts give another account of the race by authors from countries through which the race passes, but also ignores: Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and Burkina-Faso.
Throughout the course, students will work closely with librarian Christine M�nard on a variety of research projects to gather context to the race and to each story (author interviews, images of the country, environmental damage statistics, etc.). As a final project, each student will contribute content to a website on the race that we will mount as a group. Readings in French. Discussions in English.
Requirements: research activities and a 10-page analytical essay in English.
Prerequisites: reading knowledge of French. Enrollment limit: 15.
Meeting time: M, T, R mornings.
Cost to student: course pack (approximately $15).

ITALIAN

Students registered for 101-102 are required to attend and pass the sustaining program during the Winter Study Period. Three 50-minute meetings per week.
Meeting time: mornings; 9-9:50 a.m.

SPANISH

Students registered for 101-102 are required to attend and pass the sustaining program during the Winter Study Period. Three 50-minute meetings per week.
Meeting time: mornings; 9-9:50 a.m.

RUSSIAN

Required of all students enrolled in Russian 101-102. Three meetings per week, 50 minutes per session. Practice in speaking and comprehension based on material already covered as well as some new vocabulary and constructions. Designed to maintain and enhance what was acquired during fall semester, using new approaches in a relaxed atmosphere. No homework.
Regular attendance and active participation required to earn a "Pass." Open to all.
Meeting time: mornings; 9-9:50 a.m.

Williams has a unique program in the Republic of Georgia, which offers students the opportunity to engage in three-week-long internships in any field. Our students have worked in the Georgian Parliament, helped in humanitarian relief organizations like Save the Children, interned in journalism at The Georgian Times, taught unemployed women computer skills at The Rustavi Project, documented wildlife, studied with a Georgian sculptor, done rounds at the Institute of Cardiology, and learned about transitional economies at the Georgian National Bank. In addition to working in their chosen fields, students experience Georgian culture through museum visits, concerts, lectures, meetings with Georgian students, and excursions. Visit the sacred eleventh-century Cathedral of Sveti-tskhoveli and the twentieth-century Stalin Museum, take the ancient Georgian Military Highway to ski in the Caucasus Range, see the birthplace of the wine grape in Kakheti and the region where Jason sought the Golden Fleece. Participants are housed in pairs with English-speaking families in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital city. At the end of the course students will write a 10-page paper assessing their internship experience.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 8. Knowledge of Russia or Georgia is not required.
Cost to student: approximately $2000.

SOCIOLOGY-See under ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

THEATRE

This course is for all students interested in learning the duties and techniques of the Stage Manager, the member of the theatrical team who is in charge of putting it all together and whose duty it is to execute the show flawlessly night after night. We will survey all aspects of a stage manager's job, including reading groundplans and taping out rehearsal spaces; running rehearsals; writing rehearsal reports that send the right information to the right people; looking out for health and safety; running an efficient and thorough tech rehearsal; working with directors and designers; calling cue sequences involving lighting, sound, and fly cues timed to a musical score; maintaining the integrity of a show over the course of its run; and dealing with unexpected events during performances.
Evaluation: Thoughtful and thorough class participation and successful completion of a final project.
No prerequisites. Students involved with theatrical, dance, and other performance groups around campus are particularly encouraged to enroll. Enrollment limit: 15.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to student: no more than $50 for materials.

Julie Seitel, class of 1994, is a freelance theatrical lighting designer based in New York City.

THEA 13 Stalwart Originality Workshop with Craig Harris
The annual conference, Stalwart Originality: New Traditions in Black Performance is sponsoring a new work-in-progress by the composer and trombonist Craig Harris to premiere in February. The major rehearsal period will be during Winter Study.
Grade will be based on evaluation by Mr. Harris regarding the student’s participation in the workshop.
Permission of instructor required.
Cost to students: none.
Meeting times: MTWRF, 10 am-4 pm.
CRAIG HARRIS (Instructor)
BEAN (Sponsor)

As a trombonist, Craig Harris has performed with a veritable Who's Who of progressive jazz' most important figures – including Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, Lester Bowie, Abdullah Ibrahim, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Jaki Byard, Cecil Taylor, and Muhal Richard Abrams. His own compositions display both a unique sense of concept and a total command of the sweeping expanse of African-American musical expression, bringing him far beyond the confines of the jazz world and into the sphere of multimedia and performance art as composer, performer, conceptualist, curator and artistic director. His most recent multimedia work, Brown Butterfly, was created with the choreographer Marlies Yearby and the video artist Jonas Goldstein.

THEA 14 Out of the Closet: What Clothes, Costumes and Textiles Reveal in European and American Art (Same as ArtH 14)

New York City is recognized throughout the world as the nexus of the performing arts. Drawing upon Williams' proximity to New York, this course allows students to attend an expansive selection of theatre and performance in New York City over the course of a week. Prior to leaving campus, we will have class on campus in preparation for trip. Students will be responsible for a presentation on a performance to be attended in NYC. Additionally, each student will prepare an advanced reading packet based on the presentation.
This course is both a residential and a travel course, in that students will be on campus for two weeks of winter study and in New York City for one week. In New York, accommodations will be with groups of students in large hotel rooms. Fee includes a per diem for food, and travel costs to and from New York.
Students will compile a dramaturgical analysis of plays of plays to be seen; the analysis will be used as the basis for pre and post-performance discussions. Additionally, students will submit post-performance position papers for each plays seen.
Format: seminar. Grade will be based on content of advanced reading packet and presentation and participation in class discussion. Attendance to all performances is mandatory.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit:15 (12 for van). Preference given to theatre majors.
This course is not defined as a "trip" for financial aid purposes. The maximum reimbursement to financial aid students is $500.
Cost to student: approximately $1600.

WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES

WGST 10 Willa Cather: Art and Ambition (Same as American Studies 12, Classics 10, Comparative Literature 13 and English 22)

WGST 12 Preliminary Introduction to American Sign Language (Same as Linguistics 12 and Special 12)

WGST 14 Women and Politics in the Middle East: The Long Twentieth Century (Same as History 14 and International Studies 14)

SPECIALS

Today's extremely competitive higher education market places significant pressure on students nationwide to start planning for college at an increasingly early age while simultaneously demanding ever-higher standards of excellence for admission to top schools. "Early Awareness" initiatives aim to educate middle school students as to what lies ahead on the college horizon, empowering them to make sound academic and extracurricular choices that will keep open a maximum of options. The first week of this course will be spent in the classroom, exploring and discussing problems and issues germane to the national trends towards greater (and earlier) college-related pressures. Students will respond to a series of readings dealing with such issues as tracking, paid test preparation and untimed testing, early decision, parental and peer pressures, special interests, misrepresentation of information, independent counseling, and others. Class time will also be devoted to familiarizing students with both the nuances of the college admission process and the administration of the early awareness game, Quest for College. Students will spend the next two weeks visiting 10-12 Berkshire County middle schools, administering the game and inviting students to the culminating College Day. All 8 students will then work together to plan and run College Day activities for students and their parents. This day will include a) campus tours, b) general higher education info sessions, and c) financial aid/scholarship info for the parents. If student and community interest is sufficient, the course may culminate in a public presentation and open forum early second semester.
Evaluation will be based on completion of field work (school visits), organization and execution of project to bring local middle school students to the Williams Campus for a day of early-awareness related activities and a final paper (approximately 10 pages) reflecting on a course-related issue of the student's choosing.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 8. Preference given to a) students with prior education/admission experience, b) students with access to transportation c) juniors and seniors. Interested students must consult with instructors prior to registration. Students will be selected according to the following criteria: a) experience in teaching or admission, b) access to transportation, and c) seniority. Provision will be stated that interested students must consult the instructors before registration, that instructors may determine depth of experience and focus of interest.
Meeting time: afternoons.
Cost to student: transportation to field work sites and purchase of text.

Gina Coleman `90, is Associate Director of Admission, Director of Multicultural Recruitment, and in her fifth year as women's rugby coach. Coleman, who holds an MA in education from MCLA, designed the game, Quest for College.

Are you interested in teaching? Do you enjoy working with kids? Do you like to experiment with new things? Here is a chance for you to do all three! The aim of this Winter Study Project is to design a series of hands-on science workshops for elementary school children and their parents. Working in teams of 2-4, students spend the first two and a half weeks of Winter Study planning the workshops. This involves deciding on a focus for each workshop (based on the interests of the students involved) followed by choosing and designing experiments and presentations that will be suitable for fourth-grade children. On the third weekend of Winter Study (January 22, 23) we bring elementary school kids with their parents to Williams to participate in the workshops.
You get a chance to see what goes into planning classroom demonstrations as well as a sense of what it's like to actually give a presentation. You find that kids at this age are great fun to work with because they are interested in just about everything and their enthusiasm is infectious. You also give the kids and their parents a chance to actually do some fun hands-on science experiments that they may not have seen before, and you are able to explain simple scientific concepts to them in a manner that won't be intimidating. It is a rewarding experience for all involved.
Evaluation is based on participation in planning and running the workshops. Each group is expected to prepare a handout with descriptions of the experiments for the kids, parents, and teachers.
No prerequisites: You need not be a science major; all that is needed is enthusiasm.
Enrollment limit:25.
Meeting time: mornings. Classes meet three times a week for approximately three hours each session. The workshop is run on the third weekend of Winter Study (January 22, 23) and attendance from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is mandatory that weekend. There are also one or two brief meetings held in the fall term for preliminary planning.
Cost to student: none.

SPEC 12 Preliminary Introduction to American Sign Language (Same as Linguistics 12 and Women's and Gender 12)

SPEC 13 Living by Words: Surviving and Thriving in the Art and Sport of Rhetoric (Same as Comparative Literature 10, English 10, and Leadership Studies 13)

SPEC 16 Berkshire Stories (Same as Comparative Literature 11 and American Studies 11)

The course is in three parts. When successfully completed, it can lead to certification as a National Ski Patrol member and certification in Professional Rescue CPR. It will also be designed to teach wilderness and outdoor emergency techniques.
The Winter Emergency Care Course designed by the National Ski Patrol is the main ingredient. It will be supplemented by the Red Cross CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer. An additional 18-hour outdoor course in Ski Patrol rescue techniques will be taught. Passing all three courses will certify the student as a National Ski Patrol member if he/she is a competent skier.
The course will deal with and teach how to treat wounds of all types, shock, respiratory emergencies, poisoning, drug and alcohol emergencies, burns, frostbite and other exposures to cold, also bone, joint, and back injuries, and sudden illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, convulsions, etc. It will also teach the use of all splints, backboards, bandages, and other rescue equipment. It will teach extrication and unusual emergency situations and the use of oxygen.
The outdoor course will include rescue toboggan handling, organization of rescues, and outdoor practical emergency care.
Classroom work will include lectures, seminars, and practical work. There will be a mid-term and a final exam which will be both written and practical. Cost of the course will be approx. $100 per student which will pay for all materials, books, and registration fees. Each week, there will be 17 hours of classroom work plus 8 hours of practical outdoor work at Jiminy Peak ski area. Attendance at all classes is mandatory. The course will be limited to 18 students, chosen on the basis of skiing interest and ability and prior first aid experience. It will be taught by Jim Briggs, certified OEC instructor, CPR instructor and former Director of the Williams Outing Club. Sue Briggs certified OEC Instructor will assist in all aspects of the course.

Jim Briggs was the Outing Club director at Williams for many years. He has led trips to the Alps on a number of occasions. He is both a certified OEC instructors and a certified CPR instructor.

Firsthand experience is a critical component of the decision to enter the health professions. Through this apprenticeship, students can clarify their understanding of the rewards and challenges that accompany the practice of all types of medicine. Apprenticeships are arranged in two distinct ways: some students live on campus and are matched with a local practitioner, while others make independent arrangements to shadow a distant professional. The expectation is that each student will observe some aspect of medicine for the better part of the day, five days per week. In recent years, students have shadowed physicians, veterinarians, dentists, nurses, and public health experts.
In addition to the observation in clinical settings, there are optional evening discussion sessions and events on campus which give participants further opportunity to reflect upon their experiences.
A 10-page reflective paper is required.
Prerequisites: Interested students must attend an information meeting in early October.
Local enrollment is limited by the number of available practitioners. Preference for placements will be given on the basis of seniority and demonstrated interest in the health professions.
Cost to students: Local apprenticeships--Vaccinations and local transportation.
Distant apprenticeships - costs will vary based upon location.

TEACHING ASSOCIATES (Instructors): DAVID ARMET. P.T.; PEGGY CARON, D.V.M.; JENIIFER DEGRENIER, M.D.; MARIANNE DEMARCO, M.D.; PAUL DONOVAN, D.O.; STUART DUBUFF, M.D.; RONALD DURNING, M.D.; DAVID ELPERN, M.D.; ROBERT FANELLI, M.D.; ERIC SCOTT FROST, M.D.; MICHAEL GERRITY, M.D.; WADE GEBARA, M.D.; DAVID GORSON, M.D.; EUGENE GRABOWSKI, M.D.; LAURA JONES, D.V.M.; JOSHUA KLEEDERMAN, M.D.; WILLIAM KOBER, M.D.; JONATHAN KRANT, M.D.; JOAN LISTER, M.D.; PAUL MAHER, M.D.; RONALD MENSH, M.D.; JOANNE MORRISON, D.V.M.; STEPHEN NELSON, M.D.; CHARLES O'NEILL, M.D.; JUDY ORTON, M.D.; FERNANDO PONCE, M.D.; DANIEL ROBBINS, M.D.; WILLIAM ROCKETT, M.D.; OSCAR RODRIGUES, M.D.; PAUL ROSENTHAL. M.D.; ANTHONY SMEGLIN, M.D.; JESSE SPECTOR, M.D.; KATHERINE WISEMAN, M.D.; JEFFREY YUCHT, M.D.; MARK ZIMPFER, M.D.

SPEC 24 Eye Care and Culture in Caribbean Nicaragua
Following up on our successful clinics to Puerto Cabezas in January 2004 where we examined over 3000 people of all ages, and in response to an invitation from the Minister of Health for the Northern Autonomous Region of the Atlantic Coast, we plan to visit a remote area on the Rio Coco River in the heartland of the Misquito people. The Rio Coco is the boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua and is populated by small indian villages along its banks. Our visits will be by small boat and trucks.
Faculty from the New England College of Optometry will again train our students on campus prior to our trip and then supervise our work in the communities. On campus, prior to our 10-day journey to Nicaragua, we will study some aspects of Nicaraguan history and culture. We will then fly to Managua and spend a few days seeing the urban life of the country before flying to the Atlantic Coast for a week of examinations as well as observing and living the reality of the third world.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 16. This course is not open to first-year students.
Meeting time: mornings; Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 a.m.-noon.
Cost to student: approximately $2,000.

Dr. Robert Peck, retired Director of Athletics at Williams (1971-2001), is a 24-year visitor and observer of Nicaraguan politics.

Open to sopohmores, juniors and seniors who are interested in working in public schools or charter schools in New York City. Participants will be expected to pursue a full day's program of observing, teaching, tutoring and mentoring in their choice of more than 20 different school situations in NYC from elementary through high school. Each of the participating schools will have a resident supervisor who will meet with the January interns to arrange individual schedules and to provide mentoring during the month.
There will be weekly meetings of all the interns, who are expected to keep a journal and to write a 5 page paper reflecting on their month's experience.
Orientation meetings prior to January will enable students to select which subject areas and which participating school might be best for him or her.
Housing will be provided for those needing it and some assistance with transportation and food costs-estimated at about $400. for the month. Further assistance available for financial aid students.

Each class will begin with a lecture-demonstration, followed by practice on the potter's wheel. Each student will have the use of a potter's wheel for each class. We will work on mugs, bowls, pitchers, plates, jars, lids, vases, and bottles, and will finish these shapes as required by trimming and adding handles, lugs, lids, spouts, and knobs. We will also work on several different handbuilding projects. After the tenth class session, all class work will be biscuit-fired. The eleventh class will be devoted to glazing the biscuited pieces. Glazing techniques will include pouring, dipping, layering, brushing, and stamping, and using wax resist and other masking techniques to develop pattern and design. The completed work will then be glaze-fired. The last meeting will be devoted to a "final exam" gallery show of your best work. Woven into lecture-demonstrations will be presentations on various topics relating to the science and history of pottery making.
Requirements: attendance at all class sessions and enthusiasm for learning the craft of pottery making. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 9.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: $160 lab fee, plus makeup class fees ($32.50 per class) if applicable.

Ray Bub is a ceramic artist and teacher at Oak Bluffs Cottage Pottery in Pownal, Vermont, 10 minutes north of the Williams College campus.

SPEC 39 "Composing a Life:" Finding Success and Balance in Life After Williams

To be at Williams you have learned to be a successful student, but how do you learn to be successful in life? How will you define success in both your career and in your personal life? How will you achieve balance between the two? In short, what will constitute the "good life" for you? We borrow the concept of "composing a life" from Mary Catherine Bateson, as an apt metaphor for the ongoing process of defining success and balance in life. This course is designed: (1)To offer college students an opportunity to examine and define their beliefs, values, and assumptions about their future personal and professional lives before entering the "real" world; (2) To encourage students to gain a better understanding of how culture, ideology, and opportunity affect their life choices; (3) To provide an opportunity for students to consider different models of success and balance through "living cases" (in the form of guests from various professions and lifestyles); and (4) To aid students in contemplating their career options through individual advising and introducing various career and life planning resources. Using selected readings, cases, and guest speakers, we will explore both the public context of the workplace as well as the private context of individuals and their personal relationships in determining life choices.
Requirements: regular attendance, class participation, field interview, and a 10-page final paper
No prerequisites. Questions about the course: please contact Michele Moeller Chandler at 458-8106 or michele.chandler2@verizon.net Enrollment limit:15.
Meeting time: mornings.
Cost to student: approximately $30 for case materials.

Michele Moeller Chandler ('73) and Chip Chandler ('72) have taught this Winter Study course for the past eight years. They have been both personally and professionally engaged in the course topic. Michele's career has been in college administration, and she has an M.A. from Columbia, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern. Her Ph.D. dissertation focused upon the career/family decisionmaking of professional women who altered their careers because of family obligations. Chip spent 25 years at McKinsey & Company, where he was a senior partner, and he has an MBA from Harvard.

WILLIAMS PROGRAM IN TEACHING

Students interested in exploring one or more of the following courses related to teaching and/or working with children and adolescents should contact Susan Engel, Director of Education Programs, who will be able to help you choose one that best suits your educational goals.

LING 12 Preliminary Introduction to American Sign Language (Same as Women's and Gender Studies 12 and Special 12)

WILLIAMS-MYSTIC PROGRAM IN AMERICAN MARITIME STUDIES

An interdisciplinary one-semester program co-sponsored by Williams College and Mystic Seaport which includes credit for one winter study. Classes in maritime history, literature of the sea, marine ecology, oceanography, and marine policy are supplemented by field seminars: offshore sailing, Pacific Coast and Nantucket Island. For details, see "Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program" or our website: www.williamsmystic.org.

Winter Study Courses 2005

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REMINDERS ABOUT WSP REGISTRATION