APEA
All courses in APEA are subject to change. Additional courses may be substituted for some of the courses listed here. An addendum giving an update of APEA courses being offered will be mailed to you upon receipt of your application.

Humanities and Social Sciences Courses
The following courses are scheduled to be offered in the summer of 2004. However, some may be cancelled or replaced due to changes in enrollment or staffing. An up-to-date listing of Humanities and Social Sciences courses being offered will be mailed to you upon receipt of your completed application.

36-201 Statistical Reasoning (9 units)
Numerical data surround us–from baseball box scores to the gross national product; from crime statistics to demographic trends. Statistical methodology and practice allow us to quantify data in order to draw conclusions. The course will introduce students to the basic concepts, logic and issues involved in statistical reasoning. The major topics to be covered include methods for exploratory data analysis, an introduction to research methods and methods for statistical inference. An important feature of the course will be the use of the computer to facilitate the understanding of important statistical ideas and for the implementation of data analysis. In addition to lectures, students will attend computer labs each week. No prerequisite or co-requisite.

Section U
10:30 - 11:50 a.m. Tu, Th
10:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. M, W, F

76-101 Interpretation and Argument (9 units)
(University-wide required freshman course)
Students are presented with a systematic method of reading texts and producing arguments about them by learning first to summarize complex arguments, second to synthesize a series of separate but related arguments, third to analyze arguments for the problems they do and do not address and finally, to build their own arguments on a topic.

The primary focus of 76-101 is on literacy. The readings and discussions of literacy address various literate practices: elements of reading, writing, language and culture. Students are introduced to arguments and positions regarding the role such practices play in representing and building knowledge.

Section F: 10:30 - 11:50 a.m. Daily
Section E: noon - 1:20 p.m. Daily

76-213 Introduction to 20th Century Literature and Culture (9 units)
Studies in 20th century literature and culture organized according to period, form, topic or author. Summer 2004 topics still to be determined; recent topics have included: "Contemporary Magic"; "Culture, Communication and Technology: Mapping the Internet"; "Youth Cultures"; "The Disney Phenomenon"; "'Atomic America': Science, Fiction and Culture in the Nuclear Age"; and "Reading Civil Rights from the 21st Century."

Section U: 9:00 - 10:20 a.m. Daily

76-312A Creative Writing: Fiction Seminar (9 units)
This course is both an introduction to and a workshop for students who wish to write original fiction. The instructor will begin by concentrating on techniques of description, characterization and narration in the work of established authors as a basis for proceeding to the writing of scenes and stories by students. Participants will be expected to submit at least 20 pages (two-three stories), which will be distributed to the class for discussion and revision.

Section E: 10:30 - 11:50 a.m. Daily

76-313A Creative Writing: Poetry Seminar (9 units)
This course is an introduction to the reading and writing of poetry. Writing exercises will include work in both traditional and free verse and will be concerned with the elements of diction, metrics and the image-making process. Portions of each class will be devoted to discussion of poems written by members of the class. Students are required to submit a final project consisting of exercises and poems written (and revised) during the program.

Section E: 1:30 - 2:50 p.m. Daily

In addition to daily class sessions, there will be two weekly evening public readings: one will be by a visiting writer who will have attended the appropriate class session that day; the other by the students themselves. The student readings will consist of the reading of both poetry and fiction. These sessions, in addition to being public forum for the work produced in the seminars, are designed for the interaction of students in both classes as well as with the students in the other summer programs.

79-104 Introduction to World History (9 units)
This course focuses on two leading aspects of world history: the formation of major traditional civilizations with their distinctive features and the reactions of each to the challenge of Western dominance/industrialization during the past two centuries. Emphasis is on leading themes of world history, rather than a detailed chronological narrative. Eight principal civilizations or cultural traditions will provide the basic units for analysis.

Section U: noon - 1:20 p.m. Daily

79-204 20th Century America (9 units)
This course examines the history of the United States from World War I to the 1990s with emphasis on how economic, political and social changes during this time shaped the conditions, attitudes and values of present-day America. Subjects discussed in readings and in class include World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, the student protest or counter-culture movements, and the rise of the New Right.

Section U: 10:30 - 11:50 a.m. Daily

79-281 Modern Soviet History from Lenin to Yeltsin (9 units)
This course covers a broad sweep of Soviet history from the revolution in 1917 to the turmoil of the present. Spanning more than 70 years of upheaval and transformation, the course examines the October revolution, the ruthless power struggles of the 1920s, the triumph of Stalin, the costly industrialization and collectivization drives, the battle against fascism, and the present attempts at political and economic reform in the 1970s and 1980s. The course provides essential background for anyone interested in understanding the explosive history-making events in the former Soviet Union.

Section U: 3:00 - 4:20 p.m. Daily

80-100 What Philosophy Is (9 units)
This course is an introduction to some problems of contemporary philosophy. First, we consider the nature of knowledge. We read Descartes' Meditations. Second, we examine social contract theories of justice. Third, we deal with the nature of interpretation, analyzing Nietzsche's account of the genealogy of morality. Finally, we discuss recent accounts of the nature of the self, and explore the relevance of some novel ways of thinking about artificial intelligence. The aim is to analyze a variety of texts with some care, and to learn how philosophers argue. Students are required to do reading assignments in texts by both classic and contemporary philosophers. Several short papers and three exams are required.

Section U: 10:30 - 11:50 a.m. Daily

80-110 The Nature of Mathematical Reasoning (9 units)
This course focuses on understanding mathematical reasoning, not in mastering a particular mathematical theory, like linear algebra or calculus. It begins by exploring the ways in which mathematics is distinct from other forms of inquiry, with the focus on the nature of mathematical rigor. It then shows how rigorous arguments in almost any domain are instances of mathematical reasoning, and illustrates these ideas with examples (requiring no background knowledge) from the history of science and mathematics. The course culminates with a section on modern set theory, which forms the substantive foundation on which all of modern mathematics rests. State-of-the-art computer tutors are used for some of the in-class material and for much of the homework. No prerequisites.

Section U: 3:00 - 4:20 p.m. Daily

85-102 Introduction to Psychology (9 units)
This course examines major areas of scientific psychology. The primary focus is on the areas of neural and motivational control of behavior, memory and thought, social interaction and psychological development. Specific topics within these areas include brain function, motivational control systems, learning, cognitive and perceptual information processing, problem solving, obedience and conformity, social interaction, emotion, attitude consistency and change, how our social, cognitive and language functions develop, the importance of childhood to adult functioning and psycho-pathology. The course includes a small number of computerized laboratory experiments and experiences in which the student will perform experiments and analyze real data.

Section U: Noon - 1:20 p.m. Daily

82-191 Elementary Russian I (12 units)
This is a beginning level Russian language course. The course takes a proficiency based approach to teaching basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Language is presented in communicative contexts illustrating cultural aspects of daily Russian life. Special emphasis is given to developing oral competency. One or two hours per day outside of class must be devoted to practicing language skills.

Section U: TBA

88-314 Politics Through Film: Tyranny and Resistance (9 units)
In this course we will use films, readings and discussions to enhance our ability to analyze, understand and explain politics. The course is about political power, authority, leadership, ideologies, war, nationalism and resistance to authority. We will use major commercial films to explore some fundamental political problems regarding governments and societies. The central themes to be discussed in both the readings and the films will be tyranny and its impact on the people, resistance to tyranny and authority, and nationalism and war. The question of tyranny will be analyzed in the context of a variety of historical experiences, including Nazi Germany, Stalin's regime, Latin American experiences and racial problems in the U.S. To analyze the problem of nationalism and war, we will use material dealing with World Wars I and II and Vietnam.

Section U: 6:30 - 9:50 p.m. M, W

APEA Fees

That part of the cost which represents tuition is, on a per-unit basis, significantly lower than the normal academic year rate for credit courses.

Science, Engineering, Computer Science Courses

Special APEA Course Offering in the School of Music

"I enjoyed the whole experience of Pre-College. It not only exposed me to how college is, but it opened my eyes to how difficult college can be. I felt that it helped me prepare myself for the future."

 

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