The Brompton Seminars

The University of Mary Washington is pleased to announce the Brompton Seminars – a new program for select members of the class of 2011 which builds upon the University’s highly successful first-year seminar program. The Brompton Seminars consist of four different, yet linked, first-year seminars which forge a larger interdisciplinary community of student scholars for 2007-2008.

This year’s linked seminars are

• Daily Life in Ancient Rome
• Travel Writing
• James Farmer, Civil Rights, and the Great Debaters
• Energy Resources in the 21st Century

Limited to 15 students each (sixty students total), the Brompton Seminars offer enrolled students a variety of curricular, co-curricular, extra-curricular, and mentoring opportunities designed to extend seminar-style learning beyond the classroom, enrich the life of the mind, and stimulate cross-disciplinary dialogue, while deepening the first-year experience.

Although the academic seminars take place in the fall semester, Brompton Seminar participants will have exclusive opportunities throughout the academic year for enrichment, connectivity, and intellectual growth.  Planned activities and programs include community meals, common readings, discussion groups, field trips, guest speakers, social events, workshops, and research symposia.  No extra fees will be charged for these additional opportunities.

Enrollment in one of these seminars carries with it the expectation that you will participate actively in the program, including some events that take place outside class time. Most activities are optional—you can participate in those that best fit your interests and schedule—but there are five required meetings/meals. Participants should thus not sign up for a 6 PM Monday course.

All participants will be given a Brompton Seminar leader as their faculty advisor. You will also have unique opportunities for one-on-one interaction and mentoring by each of the four faculty leaders.

For 2007-2008, the four Brompton Seminars focus on such diverse and exciting themes as daily life in ancient Rome, travel writing, energy resources in the 21st century, and the life and speeches of a civil rights legend.

Incoming students who wish to participate in this remarkable new opportunity may do so simply by registering for one of the four first-year seminars listed below.  So if the theme of one of the selected seminars excites you, we cordially invite you to join the Brompton Seminars for 2007-08.

FSEM 100JJ:  Daily Life in Ancient Rome  (Houghtalin)

Interested in the ancient world?  Ever wonder what it was like to live and operate in a sphere so far removed, both culturally and chronologically, from our own?  Then take a trip back in time to explore life in ancient Rome.

This course will examine what it meant to be a Roman of the second century of our era.  We will look at the physical and literary remains of the Roman period, survey the basic structures of Roman society, and seek out the intimate details found in the daily lives of individuals.  Along the way, you will assume a Roman identity (”former governor of Cilicia,” “centurion who has served in Hispania,” “daughter of freedman and freedwoman bakers,” for example) and will act, react, and interact with the other students doing the same within their own Roman identities.  By the end of the course, you will have a good understanding of daily life in ancient Rome and all that it entailed—food, housing, occupations, entertainment, and so on—and how to research those and related topics.  You will also acquire a heightened awareness of history, historical fiction, and the development of characters in literature.

This course has been designated as Writing Intensive.  Some of the writing assignments will be purely research in nature.  Others will include a creative bent.  All will help you achieve the ultimate goal of the course:  to “become” your Roman character.

FSEM100G: Travel Writing (McAllister)

By coming to Mary Washington, most of you are travelling from one place to another. All of you are travelling from your past self to your future self. It thus seems appropriate to ponder how others have thought and written about their own travels, whether literal or metaphorical.

This course will introduce you to the genre of literary travel writing. You will read and analyze great nonfiction travel writing, do a little travel writing of your own, and read some basic cultural theory about travel, travellers, and the interdisciplinary field of travel studies. Together we will explore some of the most fundamental questions about travel and travel writing. Some examples: What counts as “travel writing”? Can a traveller represent another culture accurately? How does travel change us, and how does our own identity shape our experiences of travel? How universal are such emotions as homesickness or culture shock? In what ways is physical travel a metaphor for other kinds of journeying? Why is travel such a popular literary genre? What makes some travel literature better than others?

This course fulfills a Writing Intensive requirement, and involves extensive writing. Our emphasis is at least as much on critical thinking as on creative expression, and we will do both analytical and creative exercises. The course asks you to read a wide variety of literary travel accounts, mostly from the 20th century but also including classic travel literature; it does not cover travel journalism, which is an important but distinct genre of its own.

Our seminar goals: Be exposed to great travel writing from a range of authors writing in English. Hone skills in advanced textual analysis, critical thinking, and analytical writing. Begin, or continue, to develop skills in writing creative nonfiction. Think deeply about social, political, economic, and other issues relevant to travel, tourism, and travel writing. Learn to travel thoughtfully and to reflect on the journeys you are making in your own life. Have fun and grow intellectually as part of a vital college community.

FSEM100AA: James Farmer, Civil Rights, and the Great Debaters (O’Donnell)

During your time at UMW you will pass the bust of a legendary civil rights leader on a daily basis as you stroll down Campus Walk.  If you want to know the rest of the story, including the remarkable tale of how a thirteen year old freshman navigated the contours of a liberal arts college not altogether unlike Mary Washington, this seminar is for you.

This seminar examines the life, work, and rhetorical legacy of the late Dr. James Leonard Farmer, Jr. the legendary civil rights leader and Virginia Commonwealth Professor of History at Mary Washington College. A special focus of our efforts will be on Dr. Farmer’s intercollegiate debate career, his coach (renowned poet Melvin Tolson) and Farmer’s 1960s debates with Malcolm X on race relations in America.  Together we will examine the speeches and writings of Dr. Farmer with a special emphasis on his impact on the rhetoric of the civil rights movement and the roots and evolution of the “Great Debaters” (a story which Denzel Washington is directing into a major motion picture set to debut in 2008).

The seminar will satisfy the Speaking Intensive ATC designation and will include recreations of some of Farmer’s great speeches and debates.  Since Farmer’s speeches and writing have been largely ignored by scholars, our primary goal during our time together will be to collect (through archival work and transcription), edit, and draft an annotated collection of Farmer’s speeches and debates suitable for publication.

FSEM 100DD: Energy Resources in the 21st Century (Whipkey)

Most of the world’s energy supply is derived from petroleum, but the price of crude oil recently has hovered around $70/barrel and the price of gasoline at the pump is over $3.00/gallon.  Why is this?  Are we running out of this essential commodity?  Some analysts predict a decline in worldwide oil production within the next few years that will create shortages and drive prices upward at an accelerating pace.  Whether or not this is true, it is an undisputed fact that most crude oil production has shifted from the U.S. to politically unstable areas or areas that are openly hostile to the U.S. and other western nations.  As a result, oil supplies are uncertain and the potential for higher prices and shortages is always present.  In addition, many scientists believe that continued burning of gasoline and other fossil fuels is drastically altering our environment for the worse.  As a result of all of these factors, alternatives to petroleum may be of vital importance over the next few decades.

But what are the alternatives to oil?  And more to the point, which alternatives have the best chances of supplementing or replacing our oil supply?  Are we moving toward a hydrogen economy?  Are biofuels the answer to the problem of oil consumption, or is that particular cure worse than the disease?  What about solar and wind power?  Will nuclear energy make a comeback?  In this course we will discuss the basic science relating to petroleum and all of these potential alternative energy sources.  We will explore the technical, economic, and political feasibility of alternative energy sources and the likelihood that they will make a contribution to our energy supply.  And we will examine the environmental impacts of both fossil fuels and alternative energy sources.

This course will allow you to explore and discuss the world of energy alternatives with a group of students who, like you, have chosen this class because of their belief in the importance of this topic.”

Energy Resources in the 21st Century fulfills an Environmental Awareness course requirement.