Meeting 1 • 8 January 2013 • Tuesday
Week 1: Leaving home: pictures, visions, dreams

Version:
3/13/13

picture of the week

Humboldt, 1806, by Friedrich Georg Weitsch (1758-1828) [0070]
click on image to see full-size graphic

thought-bite of the week:

"Everything is interrelated. I must find out about the unity of nature."

(Helferich epigraph; Walls, 36)

mini-text of the week (start):

"From my earliest days I felt the urge to travel to distant lands seldom visited by Europeans… "

Humboldt, "Personal Narrative" (read more)

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(5') Brief course introduction & personal introductions, with icebreaker (small groups, then plenary): When did you take the biggest trip of your life? What do you mean by "big"?

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(10') Course overview: Our organizing principle is sustainability (Environment, Economy, Equity). Focuses: Humboldt himself; the Nineteenth Century; sciences, humanities, social sciences; America & the world (especially Europe), past & present. (Re-)interpreting the past: It was different Then and There, it is different There and Now (and There can include elsewhere within our own society). Discussion of current controversial issues is welcome, but need to stay on the main theme as expressed in the course title. Active participation and teamwork necessary. How to get a B: participate actively in classes and mentor workshop, and do all the reading (prove it!) and assignments at the performance level "sufficient". How to get an A: AmAze me. Specific activities, assignments and grades.

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(5') Thought-bite of the week (see above): "Everything is interrelated." Do you believe it? Do you believe others believe it? What do you and others mean by "interrelated" and "unity of nature"? "Nature"? Where do you and others "find out" about that unity? How does this relate to sustainability?

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(20') Biographical sketch of Humboldt and his work (Wikipedia). The course website (you're on it), the Humboldt Project website, short description of other resources. Our main print resource: The Helferich biography; get it and the other main texts right away: Help with getting texts.

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(5') Importance of teamwork and, whether during group or individual work, recognizing and then bringing forth your individual experiences and skills. Short example: You think you may have taken a course that relates to our course. Find someone else who has taken that or a similar course; report back.

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(15') Intake questionnaire (experiences) with writing sample, possibly with partner interview; label seating and take pictures

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(15') Announcements, Checkups, & Previews: 1) mentor workshops and next class meeting; 2) see schedule for reading and writing assignments.

3) Reminder: Keep your meeting handouts - maybe punch them and put them in a binder. You can also print the meeting notes from the links to the meetings on the schedule page of the course website. Where a handout includes extra material added to the printout of the meeting's web page, you'll see an additional link ("supplementary materials") along with the link to that meeting's web page.