The Program
This year the First-Year Program (FYP) is shaped by the theme:
In the struggle for authenticity amidst conformity, how then shall we live?While the theme is intended to be a touchstone for the program, it is deliberately open to many interpretations. There is no single way to think about the theme, our relationship to it or how you and I might respond to it. Indeed, it is the hope of the FYP faculty that our understanding of the theme will evolve and deepen as we return to it throughout the year. The program's success, in large part, will be measured by our collective willingness to engage the theme through our common experiences. This requires that we be open to new ideas and fresh points of view at the same time that we develop our ability to think about them critically. This also holds true for the FYP faculty, since they are also engaging the theme and most of the common readings for the first time. The FYP seminars will enable us to address thematic questions from different discipline-based perspectives and, in turn, will give us an unusual opportunity to reflect on these disciplines from a broader perspective that transcends the traditional divisions between areas of knowledge.
The co-curricular component will consist of a variety of activities
that take place outside of class, including plays, concerts, lectures,
movies, field trips, and events and discussions in Hanselman, the
residence hall for all FYP students.
Authenticating Reality
The discipline-based work of the seminar concerns the branch of
mathematics known as statistics. Roughly speaking, statistics is about
translating large amounts of numerical data into forms that are useful
to people who might care about the data. The origins of statistics lie
in efforts by 17th century European governments, particularly those of
England and France to ``count births, deaths, and marriages because
they believed that a growing population was evidence of a healthy state; those who conducted such numeric studies-as well as other,
non-quantitative analyses of social and political prosperity-came to
be called statists. Over time, the statists' social research
led to the new term for quantitative evidence: statistics.''1
While the concepts and techniques of statistics are the primary focus
of the course, we will also spend time thinking about the reporting
and use of statistical information. These days no public position is
considered complete without ``the numbers'' to back it up. Whether
it's a position on medical treatments, testing in schools,
gun-control, etc., there is sure to be data telling us what the
situation really is. The question for us is whether the data
authentically represents reality, hence the title for this course.
Class Format
In addition to lectures, we will have discussions involving the entire
class and we will regularly break up into assigned groups of 3-4
students to use a ``small group'' discussion format. The primary
goals of these sessions are to have more people actively involved in
the discussion and to promote peer learning. We will often take a
``discovery'' approach rather than a traditional ``lecture/read the
text'' approach. It will be important for us to free ourselves from
the constraints imposed by thinking of mathematical problems as things
to do after reading a section of a text or attending a lecture. Both
the general emphasis on discussion and the particular emphasis on the
discovery method mean that you will have ample opportunity to be
active participants in the class and, more importantly, in developing
your own understanding and insights into the subject matter.
FYP Journals
As part of the course requirements, you will have to keep an academic
journal. This is not a personal diary, but rather a place to
reflect on discussions and activities related to the program and
current events, on and off campus, in light of the program. You might
use it to continue a discussion we began in class, to react to a
lecture or film you saw, or to make connections between the class
material and material from other classes. You should think of this as
a semi-public document, which I will be reading and which you should,
on occasion be willing to share with the class. I will often suggest
topics for journal entries, which will include your reactions to
common events. As a general rule, you must make at least two journal
entries each week. I will collect the journals once a week, usually
on Mondays, and will make written comments and pose questions for
further thought. I will be reading your journals for content and not
style, nonetheless, I would appreciate a modest attention to your
writing. An overall evaluation of your journal will be part of your
final grade, but I will not grade individual entries.
Assignments and Grading
There will be four types of regular assignments during the semester, the FYP journals (described above), 2 papers of 3-5 pages concerning the common readings (due Friday, September 15 and Friday, October 27), individual statistics assignments, and collaborative statistics assignments based upon the group-work in class. There will also be an in-class mid-term exam on Friday, October 5 and a final exam at 8:30 AM on Thursday, December 13 (keep this date in mind when you make plans for Christmas vacation), the regularly scheduled exam period for our class time. The format of the final exam will be announced later in the semester.
Note that the Class Participation component includes attendance at
co-curricular events. There will be an average of one event per week.
It is strongly recommended that you attend as many of the events as
possible. Attendance is mandatory at the events that are central to
the program or to this class. The co-curricular events will be
discussed in class. A list of events that have been scheduled at
this time is given at the end of the syllabus.
Grading Scheme:Texts:
Class Participation and Journal 15 % Individual and Group 20 % Statistics Assignments Short Papers 25 % Due September 24 and October 29 Mid-term Exam 15 % October 5, 2000 Final Exam 25 % December 13, 2001 Total 100 %
Common Readings:Texts for Authenticating Reality:
- The Intuitionist. Colson Whitehead, Anchor Books, 2000.
- Song of Myself, Walt Whitman, Stephen Mitchell (Editor), Shambhala Publications, 1998.
- Life on the Screen : Identity in the Age of the Internet, Sherry Turkle, Touchstone Books, 1997.
- Statistics. David Freedman, Robert Pisani and Roger Purves. Norton, 3rd Edition, 1998.
Schedule of Readings, Papers and Exams
The common texts should be read by the first day they are discussed in class. Particular readings in Statistics and reserve readings will be assigned weekly.
Schedule of Events and Activities: (as of 8/29/01)