Faculty collaborations to yield new courses

New collaborative classes dealing with comparative languages, Latino politics and history, international studies and emerging relationships between the biological sciences and new technology have received the 2001 Chancellor’s Grants for Collaboration in Teaching.

The program, now in its second of three pilot years, aims to expand the curriculum by drawing upon the insights and expertise of senior faculty, according to Robert Skloot, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and developer of the grant program.

The Global Language Issues course will provide introductions to several language families and use them to illustrate issues of global significance. The course is being created by Frank Salomon, professor of anthropology, and Rand Valentine, associate professor of linguistics.

A class in !IR”Latino Politics and History” will explore the experiences of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Dominicans in the United States to help students understand commonalties as well as differences between groups, say organizers Francisco Scarano, professor of history, and Benjamin Marquez, professor of political science.

Introduction to International Studies will be located in the newly revised international studies major. Course organizers plan to use case histories to examine how various academic disciplines approach the notion of “global” and its historical contexts. Coordinating the course will be Michael Barnett, professor of political science and director of the international studies major; Jo Ellen Fair, associate professor of journalism and mass communication and director of the African Studies Program; and Ken George, professor of anthropology.

The new course Microscopy of Life will offer a strong basis in the physics of medical imagining technology as well consider its applications to and implications for biomedicine. Under the leadership of Gelsomina De Stasio, professor of physics; Patrick Turski, professor of radiology; and consultant Jamey P. Weichert, assistant professor of radiology, the course will combine lectures and labs in venues around campus to give students direct experience with the equipment.

Skloot says the awards expand both the undergraduate curriculum and interdisciplinary teaching on campus. “We hope that colleges will reaffirm the university’s commitment to innovative teaching by our most experienced faculty,” he says.

Each award recipient receives $13,500 to defray costs and time spent in developing the new courses.

For more information, visit: http://www.wisc.edu/ccae/pga.

Contact Katherine Sanders, director of the UW–Madison Creating a Collaborative Academic Environment, (608) 263-4257, kjsander@facstaff.wisc.edu.