WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Area residents can study the poetry of Robert Frost, learn about Missouri politics and government or investigate the impact of video game and movie violence on the growth and development of children in some of the new and unique courses being offered during the 2015 summer intersession, summer session or fall semester at Missouri State University-West Plains.
SUMMER INTERSESSION
The Poetry of Robert Frost (ENG 184) is a one-credit-hour class scheduled from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. May 18-22 that will offer several insights into the life and times of this great American poet. Students will explore numerous themes and aspects of his poetry, such as his use of nature and philosophy, his development of metaphor, his consideration of existential questions, and his resistance to dehumanization, according to instructor Dr. Phillip Howerton, associate professor of English.
“Robert Frost was arguably the most popular and critically acclaimed American poet of the 20th century, and this course will be a close study of a selection of some of his most important poems,” Howerton said.
Approximately 60 poems will be studied, including “The Tuft of Flowers,” “The Road Not Taken,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” “Birches,” “Mowing,” “Mending Wall,” “The Oven Bird,” “Dust of Snow,” “Home Burial,” “The Death of the Hired Man,” “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and “Fire and Ice.” In-class participation, daily quizzes, a three-page response paper and a final exam will be required, Howerton said.
Missouri Politics and Government (PLS 101) is a one-credit-hour class scheduled from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. May 18-22 that will teach students about Missouri’s history and political structure, as well as the state’s governmental structure, according to instructor Dr. Kathleen Morrison, professor of political science. Offered every other summer intersession, the class is required by the Missouri General Assembly for transfer students who take American Government out of state, but it is open to everyone, she said.
Czardas by Nature: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’s Science (BIO 197) is a one-credit-hour online class May 18-22 during which students will study the interrelationships of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components, according to per course biology instructor Rochelle McCracken. Students will develop and use scientific reasoning skills to answer questions and participate in discussions about interactions between living organisms and their environment.
African-American Autobiography: Frederick Douglass (ENG 184) is a one-credit-hour class scheduled from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. June 1-5 that will study the classic American autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Discussions will explore the structure of Douglass’ narrative, his attitudes towards slaveholders, the value he places on education, his relationship to the enslaved, his view of himself as an individual, his development as a writer and orator, and his use of rhetorical techniques and elements of creative non-fiction, according to Howerton, who will teach the class.
“Born into slavery in 1817, Douglass escaped to the north in 1838 and became an orator, author, abolitionist, newspaper editor, consultant to President Lincoln, and U.S. minister to Haiti,” Howerton said. “Douglass was the author of one novel, The Heroic Slave, and three autobiographies, Narrative (1845), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1882), and he was editor and owner of two newspapers, North Star and Frederick Douglass’s Paper. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass chronicles his experiences as a slave and his new life in the north as a laborer and as an abolitionist.”
In-class participation, daily quizzes, a two-page essay, and a final exam will be required, Howerton added.
SUMMER SESSION
The War Play Dilemma (CFD 197) is a one-credit-hour online course that will look at the impact media-related violence has on children’s growth and development, according to instructor Dr. Renee Moore, professor of child and family development. “As children are exposed to television, movies, video games and media-linked toys, concern for the impact of exposure to violence is growing,” she said. “The War Play Dilemma class will look at the role these influences have in children’s growth and development and will explore practical strategies parents and educators can employ to reduce their negative impact.”
SUMMER SESSION AND FALL SEMESTER
Environmental Science (ENV 105) is a four-credit-hour online class that will look at global geological cycles, biodiversity trends, human population dynamics, sustainable land and water usage, pollution impacts, energy challenges, climate change and future predictions for a cooperative global effort toward a habitable planet, according to instructor Debra Mayers, assistant professor of biology. The online lab component of the class will involve students creating their own solar cooker from recyclable items, measuring nearby trees and calculating board feet, and virtually trapping bears and analyzing their DNA to track their movement, she added.
Understanding Biological Systems Through Inquiry (BIO 111) is a one-credit-hour independent laboratory class that can be used to fill the lab credit for the natural sciences requirement of the Associate of Arts in General Studies degree. It is scheduled from 2 to 3:50 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer session and noon to 1:50 p.m. and 7 to 9:20 p.m. Mondays and 3:30 to 5:20 p.m. Thursdays during the fall semester. It also will be offered online during the summer session and fall semester.
This laboratory class is a practical class that relates issues of biology to society, according to Mayers, who added the class, will enhance the laboratory experience of the university’s current lab-included biology and biomedical science classes.
As an entirely hands-on class, students will further develop their skills of gathering information about science, reason scientifically from that information and synthesize responses to questions based upon that information in order to explain biological phenomena, according to Sharath Rongali, one of the instructors. “The objective of the course is to emphasize the various aspects of biology by helping students understand the biological phenomenon they observe every day,” he explained.
Students must have had or be currently enrolled in the lecture portion of a biology or biomedical science class to enroll in this class, Rongali added.
FALL SEMESTER
Social Justice and Contemporary Civil Rights Narratives (HNR 297/PHI 197) is a three-credit-hour class scheduled for 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays that will look at how present-day narratives concerning urbanite culture, post-colonialism and hip-hop reflect and engage the legacies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., according to instructor Alex Pinnon, director of the William and Virginia Darr Honors Program. Students will read the biographies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., analyze HBO’s critically acclaimed drama The Wire, reflect on the discography of Kendrick Lamar’s hip-hop albums (Section .80, Good Kid/MAAD City and To Pimp a Butterfly), and read essays from notable post-Colonial critics Achebe, Said and K’Naan.
Masterpieces of Modern Continental Literature (LLT 201) is a three-credit-hour class scheduled for 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays that offers a comparative study in English translation of the prose literature of the European continent of the 19th and 20th centuries, according to instructor Dr. Craig Albin, professor of English. The course reading list includes Abel Sanchez by Miguel de Unamuno, Billiards at Half-Past Nine by Heinrich Boll, Bread and Wine by Ignazio Silone, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzheintsyn, The Plague by Albert Camus and The Trial by Franz Kafka.
Introduction to Horticulture (AGR 170) is a three-credit-hour class that will be offered from 5:30 to 6:50 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as online, that will teach students about plant growth and development with an emphasis on horticultural crops, according to instructor Dr. Linda Risner, assistant professor of agriculture. Students will get their hands in soil and learn about soil fertility in protected structures such as greenhouses, high tunnels and row covers, as well as outdoor soils. A new greenhouse currently under construction on campus will be a working laboratory where students can conduct exercises on plant propagation, diagnosing and treating plant disorders, growing plants indoors, and media, fertilizers and watering, she said. Topics will include vegetable gardening, growing fruit and nut trees and bushes and other small fruits, and flower and herb gardening. For more information, students can call Risner at 417-274-1917.
For a complete look at the 2015 summer session/fall semester schedule, visit grizzlyden.missouristate.edu/Schedule.htm. Printed copies also are available by calling 417-255-7955.
Regular registration for 2015 summer intersession, summer session and fall semester classes is now underway. For more information about admissions and registration procedures, call the admissions office at 417-255-7955 or toll free at 1-888-466-7897 or visit the university’s website, www.wp.missouristate.edu.