How is IDST195 (formerly SPCL390.10) different from other seminar courses?

Most seminar courses are focused around particular topics involving one or a small number of disciplines. IDST195 is designed to engage you in many modes of inquiry. Renowned faculty will describe how they began to pursue their life's work, how they frame questions, seek answers, communicate their findings, and the rewards and difficulties they have experienced. You will have the opportunity to question them, and reflect more about the ways of knowing that seem most important to you. This course also fulfills one of the requirements of the Carolina Research Scholar Program (CRSP).

What will we be doing?

In this course, teams of students will interview faculty participants and post a short bio on the course Web site. Each week, the student hosts will introduce the faculty speaker, lead the seminar discussion, and pose additional questions to the speaker and student participants as needed. You will also be learning about how undergraduates can get involved in research, scholarship and creative endeavors.

Will this be a difficult class?

The challenge of this class will be the many disciplines represented. The faculty speakers will use many different styles of engaging your participation, and you may feel that you have a better background for some of the sessions than for others. But this diversity is also the reason that this class may be of particular interest to you. Students who have participated in a similar seminar at the U. of Washington-Seattle have discovered interests in topics that they knew little about before, so this class is particularly appropriate if you want to learn more about a variety of fields. You will also learn how to contribute to a discussion and have the opportunity to get to know faculty from across the campus.

How will I be graded?

Your grade will be based on attendance, seminar participation and your team's faculty interview. This course is available for pass/fail credit only, and the criteria for passing will be explained on the course web site.

What topics have been discussed in recent classes?

You may be interested to view the list of speakers and topics from spring 2009 and fall 2008 to appreciate the range of topics that are likely to be considered this semester.