UNIV101

The Student in the University and Introduction to Computer Resources

Francis Scott Key Hall 0120

Thursdays 4-6 pm

Instructor:                                                                           TA:

Bernard D. Cooperman                                                     Stuart Ulrich

Taliaferro 2130

(301) 405-4271                                                                    (301) 314-0252

bc40@umail.umd.edu                                                       culrich@wam.umd.edu

This is a 2-credit course intended to introduce first-year history majors to University life and current computer resources. In a small classroom setting, students will explore the world of higher education and current technological advances available to them. Additionally students will explore current resources both internal and external to the University, and how to utilize the World Wide Web as a research tool.

Weekly Calendar

Sept. 4       Introduction.

                 Guest: Dr. David Sicilia, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dept. of History

                 Getting Acquainted. Time Management. HUA. How to get more out of this place.

Note:

The Peer Mentoring Program Fall Kick-Off

is to-day in the

Maryland Room of Marie Mount Hall

from 5:30-7:30.

Refreshments are free

  
 


!

Sept. 11       Discussion of HUA.

                 Listening to Theodore Bikel's reading of "Digging the Weens" (from the 1959 LP, Bravo Bikel, Elektra Records EKL 175.

                 Class exercise: Using a copy of today's Diamondback as your single source, describe life and culture in early 21st-century College Park.

                 Discussion: do competitive College athletics belong on this campus?

                 Journal entry: "Who Am I?"

Sept. 18              class was lost to Hurricane Isabel

                 Journal entry: "First impressions."

Sept. 25       Library Safari. An introduction to McKeldin Library

                  First-Look Fair. Each student is to bring back some interesting artifact from a booth at the First-Look Fair.

                 Journal entry: "Who Are You?" (An interview of another student in the class.)

                 Discussion: do ethnic and religious groups on campus detract from the atmosphere fostering diversity and tolerance?

Oct. 2       Visit to the Health Center.

                 Semester Project: "UMd's marketing and you."

Students are to write reports on how the university of Maryland markets itself and on how well it lives up to its marketing promises. Reports should be based on the marketing material students received before coming, on material currently being sent out by the university, on interviews with administration people involved in recruitment, and on comparisons with student experiences in other colleges as well as at other universities.

Final reports will be posted on the students' web sites and, if possible, we will prepare an article based on our findings, for the Diamondback.

Handout: Richard Levin: "On Liberal Education" from his The Work of the University (New Haven and London: Yale Univ. Press, 2003), pp. 13-19.

Oct. 9                  Mid-Term Exams. Time Management. Note Taking. Extracting Information from Books.

                            Journal entry: Preliminary report on semester project

Oct. 14.               Showing of "Dead Man Walking" at the Hoff.

Oct. 16                4:00-5:00 Guest Lecture: Opportunities for study abroad.

                            5:00-6:00 Computer Lab

                            Journal entry: Progress report on semester project

Oct. 20

Lunch with Dr. Gary Gerstle, Chair of the Dept. of History

Pizza provided. Meet at the History Department office at noon.

Oct. 23      4:00-5:00 Discussion of First Year Book

                5:00-6:00 Computer Lab. Guest Lecture from Jennifer Garcia: Testudo, and registration.

Oct. 29                Debate on the Death Penalty in Maryland, Arts-Sociology Bldg.

Oct. 30                4:00-5:00

                            5:00-6:00 Computer Lab

                            Journal entry: a report on your interview of a faculty member.

Nov. 6                 First-Year Book

                            Tour of the National Archives

Nov. 13               Sister Helen speaks at noon

                            Discussion of First-Year Book in class

Nov. 20               Trip to Georgetown.

Preparation:

(1) Please see the 39-minute video: Black Georgetown remembered; produced and directed by David W. Powell ; written by Larry Klein. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University, c1989.  It is available in VHS format at UMCP HBK Nonprint Media Srvs Desk -under the call no. | F202.G3 B53 1989. Through the recollections of members of the Georgetown black community, some of whom still reside in Georgetown, the documentary pays tribute to a community that thrived amidst slavery, Jim Crow laws and economic inequity to emerge with a rare strength and identity. The theme was also developed in a book: Black Georgetown Remembered: a History of its Black Community from the Founding of "The Town of George" in 1751 to the Present Day, Kathleen M. Lesko, general editor & contributing author; Valerie Babb and Carroll R. Gibbs, contributing authors. (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1991). UMCP McK F202.G3 L47 1991.

(2) Take a look at the section on Georgetown in Washington at home: an illustrated history of neighborhoods in the Nation's Capital, ed. Kathryn Schneider Smith. [Northridge, Calif.] : Windsor Publications, 1988.

UMCP Architecture Library  Folio F194.W34 1988

UMCP HBK Maryland Room  National Trust Library Folio | F194 .W34 1988 

Dec. 4                  Registration

                            Journal entry: Final Report on semester project

Dec. 11                Review

                            Journal entry: Reflections on the course. Parts to be read in class.

Since an important aim of our course is to familiarize you with the resources available at the University, parts of sessions will be devoted to information about, or visits to, the Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Office for Study Abroad, and the Writing Center,  If there are other places on campus you want to know about, please let us know.

We would also like to schedule a visit to such resources in the area as the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Museum, Monticello, or other spots you may find useful in your research. Please let us know where you want to go.

Each week, one of you will be assigned to prepare a list of interesting events on campus, and in the area. You should post the list on your web page and be prepared to tell your classmates about opportunities for them. You are also encouraged to attend events at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and report back to the class.

As part of your course work, you will be expected to seek out and attend campus activities that will let you get to know some of our many sub-communities. These activities may be religious, cultural, social, academic, or humanitarian. Reports on your experiences belong on your web page.

Grade:

Participation and Attendance: 25%

First-year Book Project: 20%

Semester Project: 20%

Journal Entries: 10%

Web Page: 15% The grade is based on both design and content.

Extra Assignments: 10%