Males &Females: Biology, Film, and Literature
Spring Semester 2014
Overview:
This course was something I initially decided to take because it fulfilled the interdisciplinary requirement for my major. However, the course turned out to be deeply enjoyable because I was able to interact with students in a smaller classroom which set it far apart from my large lecture biology and chemistry courses. Furthermore, the course was set up so differently from the ordinary course, that it presented an altogether new experience, based more on discussion and debate, than exams and papers. MATERIAL SAMPLES:
Three of the articles we read that stood out to me: 1) role of women in higher education 2) an opinion piece concerning behavioral and emotional differences between men and women 3) a piece about the hidden culture of aggression in females that often go unnoticed by many.
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Structure:
This honors seminar was built to discuss males and females in terms of their nature and how they are built by society. The concept of "nature vs nurture" was a major focus of the class, with discussions on research in whether the biological differences between genders is more or less influential than societal and cultural factors. Every week, we had a series of readings, mostly research and arguments presented by various authors on different aspects of the gender difference topic. Most of the time, we had two readings each week that presented opposing viewpoints. Then, during class, we had discussions on the readings, primarily very open to stating personal opinions on the matter and presenting our own interpretation of the readings. On the side, we split the class into groups of two or three and each group focused on a topic related to gender in biology, pop culture, or society in general, and presented that topic on a predetermined week. Topics ranged from gender stereotypes, roles in the work-force, communication between and within genders, gender in crime, the stereotypical "beautiful" man or woman, and many more. Read on, to see more details on my particular project. Class Project:
For my class project, I was partnered with my classmate, Victoria Harris. Together we analyzed the pros and cons of coeducation and single-sex education for students in grades K-12. Below is the presentation we gave to our class.
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Service component: Trip to the Buckhorn Children and Family Services campus
In April, our class drove down to Buckhorn, KY, a small town located in the Appalachian Mountains. This scenic region contains a school and housing facility for children in need. Many of the children who attend this school have either come from families who have lost their rights to parenthood, due to drug abuse leading to an unsafe environment for the children, or have been placed in the school due to certain issues with their behavior. The school strives to prepare the children for an independent life of adulthood and to bring them out of the situation that they have, through no fault of their own, fallen into.
Over three days, we were able to meet the board of directors and several other faculty, have meals with the students, and contribute to the school by helping paint and renovate a school building that they are planning on opening for the students. It was an amazing weekend of bonding, service, and personal enjoyment.
Over three days, we were able to meet the board of directors and several other faculty, have meals with the students, and contribute to the school by helping paint and renovate a school building that they are planning on opening for the students. It was an amazing weekend of bonding, service, and personal enjoyment.