First-year virtual summer course: LSC 299
Spring semester and this summer haven't turned out how anyone planned, and we've missed the opportunity to connect with you in person. With the transition to online Orientation & Registration sessions, our faculty are excited to get to know you through our new one-credit virtual summer course, Liberal Studies Composition (LSC) 299.
This six-week virtual course will help you transition to Augustana and start building community with your peers and faculty.
The course is tuition free for all first-year students and will help you earn one elective credit prior to the start of the school year. Some courses have small course fees listed in the course descriptions. Students will meet virtually once a week for six weeks starting the week of July 6, 2020. We hope to "see" you there!
Check your email for a link to register. Registration is open through Friday, June 19.
FAQs
What is the name of the course and what will I study?
The course is: Liberal Studies Composition (LSC) 299.
20 different courses will be offered. When you register, you’ll list five courses you are interested in, and then you’ll be placed into one of the five courses based on availability. Each course has a maximum enrollment of 12 students.
How do I register?
Registration links will be sent to deposited students by email.
What is the deadline to register?
The registration deadline is Friday, June 19. Make sure to complete your next steps tasks to be able to register for this course on time.
Who is eligible to take this course and who will I be taking classes with?
This course is solely designed for incoming first-year students at Augustana College. It will allow you to connect with other new students and faculty and start building your Augustana community.
Will my financial aid be impacted if I enroll in this course? How much will this course cost?
No, your financial aid will not be impacted at all. The LSC 299 course is tuition free
Some of the courses do have a small course fee. All course fees are $25 or under.
Is this course required?
No, you are not required to enroll in this course but it's a great opportunity to connect with your classmates and faculty.
What is the time commitment?
The course will only be offered in July through early August 2020. It will meet once a week for six weeks beginning July 6. Each course has its own set weekly meeting time (CDT), so make sure you’re paying attention to your schedule when you pick your top five.
What credit will be earned?
LSC 299 is a free one-credit college course. The course will be offered to students as pass/no credit. Students who pass the course will earn one college credit at Augustana.
Do I need this credit?
The LSC 299 credit will be considered elective credit.
Augustana requires students to complete at least 124 credits to graduate. Many of these 124 credits will be completed via major requirements and general education requirements. Most students will need some additional elective credit to reach the 124 total credits needed to graduate. So, this course would help you meet those elective credit requirements.
Why is this course being offered?
Augustana College has never offered a free course like this to incoming first-year students. Faculty wanted to engage with the incoming first-year class.
I’m an international student living in my home country and haven’t secured my visa yet. Can I still take this course?
Yes. We recognize the timing of this course might conflict with your graduation exams but would love to have you participate if you are able. Deposited international students may enroll and receive credit for this course regardless of securing a VISA or not.
Course descriptions
| Course title: | A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: Understanding Visuals |
| Meets: | Wednesdays, 9 a.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $20 or less |
| Instructor/s | Dr. Carolyn Yaschur |
| Description: | This course centers on understanding and interpreting meaning from images (primarily photos, but possibly art, as well.) Students would learn basic composition and how "deconstruct" images. They would learn how and why photojournalists impart meaning in their photos. The course would also cover how images affect us on a psychological level. Finally, students would create their own photos and explain their meaning and how they imparted it visually. |
| Course title: | When "Far, Far Away" Sounds "Close, Close to Home" |
| Meets: | Thursdays, 10 a.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Daniel Chetel |
| Description: | In this course students will explore how symphonic composers in the Western tradition utilize gestures and leitmotifs to tell stories through music. These techniques can be heard in the sweeping film and television scores of today by composers like John Williams but can be traced back through history via the music of Richard Wagner’s epic operas, Antonín Dvořák’s haunting tone poems, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s iconic symphonies. While we may think of Darth Vader’s Imperial March as a menacing harbinger from a galaxy far, far away, it is in fact deeply rooted in historical depictions of culture, gender, and class right here in our own earthly history. This course will introduce students to the origins of musical gesture and ask us to imagine how contemporary representations reinforce or subvert these historical norms. |
| Course title: | Your Immune System vs SARS-CoV-2 |
| Meets: | Thursdays, 7 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Dara Wegman-Geedey |
| Description: | Want to understand why this past spring the symptons of COVID-19 seemed to keep shifting every few weeks? Wondering what a cytokine storm is or how plain old soap and water can actually deactivate a deadly virus? Using lay terminology and analogies, we'll discuss what the SARS-CoV-2 virus can do to the human body, what the human immune system does to combat the virus, and how a vaccine will train the immune system to protect us from future infections. |
| Course title: | Truth, Knowledge, Misinformation |
| Meets: | Thursdays, 2 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Deke Gould |
| Description: | It has become increasingly common to hear political operatives and media personalities say things like “Philosophers on all sides agree that there is no truth” or “According to philosophy, reality is entirely subjective”. In addition to promoting dubious political agendas, statements such as these reveal ignorance about much recent work in analytic philosophy. In this class, we will survey some classic papers in epistemology (by, e.g., Plato, Frankfurt, Boghossian) and watch documentaries (via PBS Frontline, Vox, HBO) with a critical view toward misinformation campaigns. |
| Course title: | Censorship and Creativity in Today's China |
| Meets: | Wednesdays, 6 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Elizabeth Lawrence |
| Description: | China’s state censorship regime strictly curtails freedom of expression and access to information. Chinese people, from famous artists to everyday “netizens,” persistently dodge the censors and test the limits of restricted speech, generating works of outstanding creativity in the process. This course explores the relationship between censorship and creativity in contemporary China through an examination of Internet memes, the art of Ai Weiwei, Fang Fang’s Wuhan Diary, and recent Chinese science fiction. |
| Course title: | Programming a Pandemic |
| Meets: | Saturdays, 2 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost, but a desktop or laptop computer (Windows, Mac, Linux) required. |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Forrest Stonedahl |
| Description: | Even simple computer models can illustrate important epidemiological concepts! In this course we will examine and discuss several simulations of how diseases can spread through a physical space, mobile population, or social network. We will also create our own simple agent-based models that capture some aspects of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and use these models to better understand concepts like "mortality rate", "herd immunity", and the measure of contagiousness known as "R0". (Students will also learn a few "coding" skills during this course, but no prior computer science knowledge is required or expected!) |
| Course title: | Not A Joke: Funny Feminists & Social Protest |
| Meets: | Tuesdays, 9 a.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $12 estimate for renting 3 films. |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Jane Simonsen |
| Description: | This class will address the ways that feminists & other advocates for gender equality have used humor as social protest both historically and today, even as detractors have cultivated the claim that feminists are "no fun." We'll watch early examples from silent film & black lesbian musicians, compare how humor was used strategically by Second Wave groups, and look at recent examples (ex. Amy Schumer, Chanty Marostica, Issa Rae), and end by considering when and how humor can be used to engage in critical discussions. |
| Course title: | Interfaith Understanding |
| Meets: | Tuesdays, 2pm CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Jason Mahn |
| Description: | How should people of faith (and no faith) think about and relate to neighbors with different beliefs and practices? Can Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and secular humanists come together around shared commitments to justice while still honoring their deep differences? Through this course, students will meet Quad Cities faith leaders (from Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives) and begin to build understanding and relationships across religious differences. |
| Course title: | Laughing Matters |
| Meets: | Tuesdays, 6 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $15 maximum for movie rental fees |
| Instructor/s: | Jeff Coussens |
| Description: | In this course students will examine comedy as an art form that can be therapeutic and healing or provocative and divisive. Through study and discussion of films and concert footage featuring comedians from Lenny Bruce to Dave Chappelle, we will explore the ways that comedy makes us laugh, think, criticize, debate, and celebrate what it means to be human. |
| Course title: | "Everyone Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face": What Survival Movies Teach about Handling Adversity |
| Meets: | Mondays, 7 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $25 estimated cost. Students will need to rent six films. (Films may be available for free with streaming services.) |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Lendol Calder |
| Description: | "Six survival films in six weeks: if you can learn how others have survived bears, storms, crevasses, kidnapping, being lost in space and all manner of ontological despair, I’m pretty sure you will handle anything college can throw at you. Our question: in difficult, life-threatening situations, why do some fail while others prevail? My part in the conversation will be to underline a lesson or truth from the week's film that applies to living well at college. My qualifications: I have been attacked by a bear, plunged into a crevasse, rescued off a mountain by helicopter long-line, and parented five teenagers. I have skills. " |
| Course title: | Augustana Education as an Investment |
| Meets: | Saturdays, 11 a.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Lina Zhou |
| Description: | "This course will introduce students to basic financial literacy, with their education at Augustana College as an investment case study. Included topics are effect of compounding, sunk cost, budgeting, the stock market, expected return/risk, portfolio management process. In particular, we will discuss the importance of ethics and the trendy social responsible investing, impact investing and ESG investing, and how liberal arts education will help them outperform in their professional career in the future. " |
| Course title: | Archaeology at the Movies: Aliens, Curses, and Media Criticism |
| Meets: | Wednesdays, 3 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $10 estimated cost. Students will need to rent four films. |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Lucy Burgchart |
| Description: | In this course, students will view a series of movies that pair ancient artifacts with otherworldly visitors or supernatural power (think Ancient Aliens and the “mummy’s curse”). Using tools from media criticism and rhetorical criticism, Dr. Burgchardt and students will discuss what this storytelling pattern says about cultural norms, and why it might be problematic to associate ancient human accomplishments with aliens and magic. |
| Course title: | Cartoons and Politics in the US |
| Meets: | Thursdays, 6 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Mariano Magalhaes |
| Description: | This course will examine how politics in the U.S. is depicted and discussed in popular cartoon strips. Using examples drawn from a number of comic strips, including Doonesbury, Farside, The Boondocks, Bloom County, and Calvin and Hobbes, students will be exposed to popular comic strips and what they tell us about our political environment. The purpose of the course will be to examine the political themes exhibited in cartoons and how these themes are treated by their creators. |
| Course title: | Journey-in-Place: Pandemic as Pilgrimage |
| Meets: | Wednesdays, 10am CDT |
| Fees: | $6 estimated cost to rent two films. |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Megan Havard-Rockwell |
| Description: | The word “pilgrimage” evokes a journey to a sacred site where travelers seek healing, forgiveness, or enlightenment. One might think that, during a global pandemic when travel and social gatherings are severely limited, this ancient and sacred ritual is not available to us. Then again, some core characteristics of pilgrimage include: separation from previous norms and practices, liminality (an anticipatory state of being in-between or in transition), the sense of community that emerges with fellow pilgrims, the potential for personal transformation, and the reintegration of those transformed people into their communities of origin. Through a selection of readings and films, this course will help us reimagine our current circumstances as a sort of pilgrimage. If we are on a journey-in-place, what is our sacred destination, and what sort of transformation is possible along the way? |
| Course title: | Summer Choral Experience - Augustana Virtual Choir |
| Meets: | Tuesdays, 7 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Michael Zemek and Dr. John Hurty |
| Description: | Start your collegiate singing career off right! Join Augustana College students and faculty artists to hone your choral ensemble skills through weekly rehearsals and activities including warm-up routines, rehearsal strategies, audition techniques, choral literature conversations, and other essential skills for creating a choral community. We will conclude with a virtual choir performance. |
| Course title: | Are sci-fi movies based on science? |
| Meets: | Tuesdays, 4 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | Netflix subscription required |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Nathan Frank |
| Description: | The purpose of this course is to watch four science fiction movies with the eye of a scientist. We will think about the movies in terms of what is confirmed science, is plausible, and what is completely impossible. Get ready for time travel logical problems, artificial worlds, and disasters of epic proportions! |
| Course title: | You are What You Eat |
| Meets: | Thursdays, 1 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $10 maximum |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Pam Trotter |
| Description: | The old adage “you are what you eat” has been adopted as a motto for healthful eating. In this course, we will explore the reality of the idea using knowledge from biochemistry, nutrition, physiology, and microbiology. Topics will include: (1) Made of corn?- Biomolecules that make up food, and you; (2) The good and the bad - Evaluating nutrients in food; (3) The ugly - Additives to and safety of food; (4) Eating for your health - Strategies for healthful eating in college. |
| Course title: | Jethro Tull: 1968-1978 |
| Meets: | Mondays, 2 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $20 or less |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Randall Hall |
| Description: | Discover the music of the eccentric, British progressive rock band Jethro Tull. Drawing on the influence such as the blues, hard rock, folk, jazz, and classical music, Jethro Tull has sold over 60 million albums throughout their 50-year career. In this course, students will explore selected songs and albums from their first decade. Through examining text and music, students will be introduced to issues such as appropriation, intertextuality, musical text setting, rhetoric, social criticism, and the hero and trickster images while listening to some great classic rock. |
| Course title: | Music That's Out of This World |
| Meets: | Thursdays, 3 p.m. CDT |
| Fees: | No cost |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Tony Oliver |
| Description: | Exactly 15,645 days before the start of this class, NASA launched a gold disc as part of a deep-space mission. It contained sounds and images from Earth as an introduction of our planet to whatever lifeforms could figure out how to play the disc. We start our exploration there and wonder about the 1977 playlist (was it “groovy”?), wonder about today’s music (would the 2020 extraterrestrial think it “slaps”? Why?), and wonder what you would put on YOUR gold disc if you could send it out there. |
| Course title: | Infected: What Zombies Can Teach Us About the Biology of Disease |
| Meets: | Mondays, 10 a.m. CDT |
| Fees: | $10 estimated cost to rent videos |
| Instructor/s: | Dr. Troy Larson |
| Description: |
Zombies have become commonplace in books and films as a metaphor for consumerism, globalization, racial division, and more. While the zombie apocalypse isn’t going to happen soon (probably), using the depictions of zombie outbreaks from movies and television can also help us explore fundamental concepts of biology including pathogens and disease outbreaks, ecology, and evolution. In this course, we’ll explore the world of zombies in films as well as ‘real life’ zombie creatures whose minds are controlled by parasites such as zombie spiders and zombie ants. |
Deadlines and Policies
June 19: Last day for students to submit list of five preferred sections to Admissions Office.
June 26: Registrar’s Office will register students for LSC-299 sections. Students will be informed of the section they are registered for.
July 6: LSC-299 classes begin. Each section meets once per week for a one-hour session at a designated time. Each section will have a total of six weekly meetings
July 13: Drop deadline to avoid “W” grade, by noon. All drops after this date receive a “W” grade. Complete the Electronic Drop Form available on the Registrar’s Forms Page.
August 10-15: Last week of class. No class will occur after August 15.
August 15: Withdrawal deadline, by noon. Students that withdraw after July 13 will receive a grade of “W” for the course. Complete the Electronic Drop Form available on the Registrar’s Forms Page.
August 18: Instructors submit grades of P or NC by noon.
LSC-299: Policies
• LSC-299 is offered as a Pass/No Credit class.
• Regular attendance and participation is an expectation for this course. Students should attempt to attend all live class video conferences. If a student will need to be absent from a live class session, the student should inform the instructor prior to the missed class session. A student that cannot attend live class sessions regularly should withdraw from the course. Augustana may execute an Administrative Drop for a given student if the student is not participating in the class and not communicating with the instructor.
• LSC-299 is a tuition-free course for Augustana students. If a student chooses to transfer to another institution within 12 months of completing LSC-299, Augustana will apply a tuition fee of $575 for the LSC-299 course before releasing the transcript.