Broad-Based Courses
*There may still be some class changes before the selection sheets are made available.
The following broad-based classes will be taught at GHA in 2010. Students select one broad-based and one intensive course. The broad-based classes meet for a lesser period of time than the intensive courses, and they are designed for students who simply have an interest in a particular area. No previous experience is necessary.
HUMANITIES AND THE ARTS
Get on the Zine
Pen. Paper. Xerox machine. With these basic ingredients, we’ll whip up our own small press. We’ll glance at the history of self-publishing – including pamphleteer Thomas Paine and underground political movements in the former USSR – and look at some fine, fresh samples of self-published zines.
The heart of this class is writing; as such, we’ll read and talk about hallmarks of good poetry and prose. As we consider ways in which form and content complement each other, you’ll be able to showcase not only your skill with text but also with image and design. Consider this a chance to reconnect with the pleasures of print.
We’ll shoot for a zine a week for each student in the class. If time and interest permit, we’ll also take our “underground” publications above ground for a performance event, with a zine as our program.
Get on the Zine and explore the possibilities of design and publishing – high tech, low tech, no-tech. We’ll generate explosive (in a good way) content and configure funky, heat-proof containers for it.
Instructor: Nicole Sheets
Handmade In a Material World
In Handmade in a Material World you’ll put your imagination to work for charity, the good of the environment and a little something special for yourself. We’ll learn how to embroider, stitch small felt creatures and refashion an old t-shirt. In the process, we’ll practice relaxing yet productive concentration. Each class will balance brief readings, thought-provoking discussions (like how crafts preserve traditions, relieve stress and produce unique works), short writings and reflections, and dedicated art work. We’ll talk to local artisans and take field trips to donate some of our creations for very good causes. All the while, you’ll learn to develop your imaginative side in a relaxing and inspirational environment.
Instructor: Molly Bassett
21st Century Photography
How does my digital camera work and why do I like the pictures it takes? Learn how to take better pictures with your digital camera and unveil the magic behind the machines that take and print your favorite pictures. You'll leave with a portfolio of new images and the skills and working knowledge of how to take better pictures and how to save, store, and share your work.
Instructor: Dr. Jay Libby
Vox: Finding Your Voice Through Writing and Performance
If you have ever been in an audience and thought, “Hey, I could do that,” this is your chance. Based loosely on the concepts and philosophy of No Shame Theatre (a national fringe organization dedicated to the ideal that theatre can be created by anyone – anywhere – at anytime) and designed for students with or without a theatrical or writing background, Writing for Performance will focus on through discussion and experimentation in a low-risk environment.
You will create monologues, memoirs, editorials, and short scenes (as well as some other really cool stuff), and then explore the process of bringing those pieces to life through performance, placing particular emphasis on the use of non-traditional performance spaces.
This is a class where you can express yourself without the fear of censure or the fear of failure. In fact, this is the one class where you actually can dare to fail – not because you want to fail, but because you are willing to take that risk in order to succeed.
Instructor: John Shirley
It's an ocean of media: you sinking or swimming?
If you are an average person, you will spend about 400 hours this year with some form of media. From those experiences you will learn what is funny, what is attractive, what love is supposed to be like, and how you are supposed to interact with your family and friends. The media will influence the way you talk, the way you act and the way you think about an endless myriad of topics. Advertising will influence what you buy and how much you spend.
Yes, I know, you think the media don’t affect you that much, but trust me, that thought is part of the reason they do.
In this course, I’ll challenge you to be more media literate and media savvy, and you’ll learn how to be a better consumer of the media.
Instructor: Dan Hollis
Explore Japan through Interactive/Hands-On Activities
Japan has been pictured as an industrialized nation; therefore, it is essential for students to learn Japanese history and culture in order to understand Japanese modern society. The class has eight components: lectures and discussions; Origami; calligraphy; Anime, in which you will create pictures; religion; music and dance; food (you'll cook it yourselves); and literature.
Instructors: Sachiko Wood and Fujiko Sawtarie
Front Row Bandits
Front Row Bandits: An average American high school student going to college is arguably in the top 1% of history. Ever think about your life like that? Well then, let's ask some tougher questions: Why aren't you good enough to get into Harvard University? Why aren't you good enough to start a revolution? What's holding you back from impacting future generations? Front row bandits is an intensive, interactive look at YOU. YOUR GENERATION. YOUR POTENTIAL.
Instructor: Hank Hampton
Modern Crossroads
We stand at a crossroads--knowing who we are, but needing to decide who we will be tomorrow. If you could write a letter to a ten-year-old you, what would you say? What wisdom would you like to pass on to those who come after you? What do you want your legacy to be?
Popular music, literature and movies al try to point us in a direction, but is it necessarily the right one? Participants will discuss the effect these media have on society--specifically teenagers...are you ready to help shape the future?
Instructor: Heather A. Taylor
Al-3rabi hiya likum! Arabic Is For You!
Mar7aban! Welcome! and no, that seven isn't a typo...Tat's text/instant message spelling in Arabic. Interested?
In this class you'll learn the alphabet and some simple grammar and focabulary for Modern Standard Arabic which is used for reading, writing and media purposes across the Middle East...but isn't spoken. Anywhere. so our main focus will be the dialect spoken in Egypt. We'll learn some phrases and tips (know how to haggle?) that will help you if you ever get to go abroa to these amazing countries (lots of people understand Egyptian). In addition to the formal language, you'll learn text/I.M. Arabic.
But what's studying language without culture? To round out the class you'll learn about Middle Eastern music, dance, cuisine, religion, mytholody, and have a brief overview of the other dialects of Arabic. This is your chance to try something new. How about it?
Instructor: Rachel McGuire
Bells, Bombs, Babushki: Exploring Russian Culture
Winston Churchill wrote, "Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." American foreign policy analysts are quickly reaching the same conclusion today. This class will give you an insight into the "Russian soul" and what drives it to its extreme heights of beauty and its extreme depths of depravity--how the same country could produce Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as well as Stalin and Rasputin. By the end of the course, you will understand what the great poet Tiutchev meant when he wrote, "Not with the mind is Russian understood/The common yardstick will deceive/In gauging her: so singular is her nature--/In Russia one must simply believe.
Instructor: Dr. Erich Lippman
Geometry to the Higher Dimension: Caution this is Not Your High School Geometry Class!
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if we weren’t on a sphere? Whatif in fact we lived on a cone or even a watermelon, could we still use our GPS tonavigate as we do now? In this class we will investigate what allows us tonavigate the seven seas and why Magellan could determine that the world wasnot flat. We have all seen a straight line on a plane but have you ever thoughtabout what it means to walk a straight line on a sphere or other curved surface?
Come discover how the Euclidean geometry of high school actually fails on thevery surface we live on! This course will allow you to develop your own world
that is not a sphere but rather another curved object.
Instructor: Jenniferl Manor
Environmental Science and Introductory Geographic Information
In this course students will become familiarized with the major environmental problems facing the world. We will explore aspects of global change from habitat loss and degradation to climate change and the population explosion. West Virginia will be the focus of our attention when we dive into issues concerning mountain top removal and its sustainability as well as its place in the national energy budget. As a class we will devise a number of changes that the average American could do to make their lives less carbon intensive while on a low budget.
As part of another practical exercise our attention will shift to one of the cutting edge tools currently being used in the environmental sciences and a variety of other land use planning areas. Students will learn how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is becoming an industry standard for the development and analysis of spatial data. In addition to covering the basic principles and data manipulation techniques in GIS, students will learn how to interface GPS devices to develop their own maps. As a class we will develop a Bethany College campus map. At times, we will be in the field hiking over varied terrain to acquire GPS coordinates used in the map. Students will gain co-authorship over the resulting Bethany College map.
No prior background in environmental science or GIS is necessary, as this is intended to be an introductory course.
Instructor: Patrick Raney
An Inquisitive Look at the Human Body from the Inside Out
The human body can withstand extreme cold, diseases, lack of food and water and still function properly. There is a hierarchy present when we talk about the human creature. You know what the organs do; however, in this course you will learn how the organs function and why this affects the overall functioning of the human body.
Course instructor: Dr. Sekhar Mamidi
The Physics of Sports
Come explore the world of sports from a physical point of view. Find and understand the sweet spot on a baseball bat. Investigate how athletes control their rotation in sports like ice skating, snowboarding, diving and more. From the slow-motion replay to the design of swimsuits and pools, understand how technology is pushing sports to new limits. Learn about these concepts and many more. Students will be encouraged to try new sporting activities, to ask many questions and to research deeper into specific sports of interest to them.
Students will also explore the world of kinesiology as it relates to sports. Do you have more fast-twitch muscles or slow-twitch muscles? What differences are there in the structure of muscles and bones in different people. What does this mean for the type of athletics you are better suited for? Why can some people jump higher than others of similar strength? Explore the boundaries of human ability based on a physical understanding of the human body.
Instructor: Eric Reynolds
BeNOTINFeAr: a Practical and Perhaps Fun Approach to Chemistry.
This is a lab-based course for students who want to explore the subject of chemistry further and reinforce skills required to be successful in the science field. sutdents in this course will discuss the concepts that govern chemistry and then perform lab procedures to see them in action. Students will gain experience in performing calculations, working safely in the lab, reporting results, and bending the forces of the universe to their will. Students will need to come prepared with old clothes, close-toed shoes and a calculator.
Instructor: Mike Burr
The Science of Music
Music is considered an art, judged by aesthetics and human perception. But to look
closely at the fundamentals of music we find many ties to science and mathematics. In this course the mechanics of sound waves will be studied as it relates to music. We will discuss the mathematical architecture behind written music and the structure of musical scales. The course will cover the science behind various methods of creating music, including voice, strings, wind, percussion, electronics, and more. The biology of hearing will be discussed. A study of the mechanics of microphones and speakers will describe how sound can be converted into electrical signals and back to sound. The impact of computers and digital technology will be addressed. There will be discussions on the intangible aspects of music and whether the human emotional response to music can ever be truly analyzed scientifically.
Instructor:Dr. Ben Campbell
Note: The class descriptions are posted simply for your perusal. The handbook and forms will be publixhed at a later date.
Do NOT submit 2009 forms. They will not be accepted.
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