Required Texts: (NOTE: Students are expected to read the texts prior to the on-site seminar)

• Philippe Bourgois: In Search of Respect, 2nd Ed, Cambridge University Press (ISBN: 0521017114)
• Charles Dickens: Bleak House, Signet Classics (ISBN: 0451528697)

This seminar will explore the idea of obligation on the part of people within impoverished and damaged communities and even more on the part of people and institutions of privilege, on the outside of these communities. The first text was written by a contemporary social scientist, and discusses his experiences collecting ethnographic data among the residents of Spanish Harlem, in New York City. The second text is a classic of world literature, a complex, exciting, and dramatic novel set in mid 19th century London.

Both 19th century London and 21st century New York have many of the same problems: extreme economic and social stratification, which gives rise to disease, crowding, poverty, and drug abuse. And in both worlds the question of moral obligation arises, both on the part of the privileged and of the disinherited.

The issues raised by inequality may be addressed in a variety of ways and through a variety of genres. This seminar will make use of both academic ethnography and literary fiction. We will explore not only the narrative content of the two works, but their successes and failures at evoking moral interest and a sense of obligation on the part of readers.

This course is available for one credit only. To earn course credit, students must attend the live seminar and answer the essay questions that will be distributed at the end of the seminar.

Required Text: (NOTE: Students are expected to read the text prior to the on-site seminar)

• Ursiny, T. (2003). The Coward's Guide to Conflict. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc. (ISBN: 1402200552)

Conflict analysis, management, and resolution. Exploring the common causes of conflict. Understanding when conflict can be a good thing. Building knowledge, skills, and confidence for healthy conflict resolution. Learn effective practices that build solid personal and group relationships. Seminar includes presentation, readings, discussions and use of films.

Assignments: In addition to attending the seminar and completing the activities in class, you will independently complete two written assignments. For the first assignment, you will rent a movie (determined by instructor) and analyze the conflicts within the movie using the course materials presented in the text and in class. The second assignment will be a reflection paper in which you analyze a current or past conflict you have experienced and apply conflict-resolution strategies learned in this course. More details about the assignments will be given during the seminar.

Additional information: H D 499x Fall 2006 Syllabus

Required Texts: (NOTE: Students are expected to read the texts prior to the on-site seminar)

• Burch, Mary R. & Bailey, Jon S. (1999). How Dogs Learn. Howell Book House. New York, NY (ISBN: 0876053711)
• Pryor, Karen (1999). Don’t Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training. Bantam Books. New York, NY. (ISBN: 0553380397)
• Donaldson, Jean (1996). Culture Clash. James & Kenneth Publishers. Berkeley, CA. (ISBN: 1888047054)

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction to the fundamental principles of learning using the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB). Using this natural-science perspective, we will examine how environmental variables influence behavior through classical and operant conditioning. More specifically, we will show how these forms of conditioning influence animal behavior, paying particular attention to how they can be used in animal training to better the lives of pets and the people with whom they live.

This course will also introduce students to a specific approach to animal training called "clicker training." This type of training is well established and has been used to successfully train a variety of animals (e.g., dolphins, whales, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, llamas, just to name a few). Although the readings for this course focus largely on the learning and training of domestic dogs, the same general principles apply across most species and the lecture will incorporate a variety of examples. If you are a pet owner who loves his/her pet(s), and is interested in learning about how you can use the science of behavior to better communicate with your pet, this is the class for you.

After completing the readings and attending the seminar, students will be required to return home and apply what they have learned to an actual training problem that they are currently facing with their pet. In doing so, each student will generate a case study report outlining how they assessed the problem, how the principles of operant and classical conditioning relate to the problem and how they applied the principles of learning and clicker training to fix that problem. More detailed instructions about this assignment will be given following the seminar.

Additional Information: Psych 499x–Pet Fall 2006 Syllabus

Required Text: (NOTE: Students are expected to read the text prior to the on-site seminar)

• Kalat, J.W. & Shiota, M.N. (2007). Emotion. Thomson/Wadsworth Publishers (ISBN: 0534612180)

For more than two thousand years thinkers have argued that emotions are base and destructive and that the most noble areas of human achievement occur as the result of reigning in our passion with our capacity to reason. The epicureans and stoics of ancient Greece thought that emotions are irrational and damaging. Anger, for example, was always thought to be destructive to self and society.

In this seminar you will encounter a different view emerging from the recent research and theories of human emotion. That new view is that emotions serve important functions for us, especially in our social lives. This does not mean that emotions are rational, but it does mean that we can make sense of the emotions. Some major questions addressed include the following: How are emotions different in different cultures? Where do emotions come from in our bodies and brains? What happens when we express our emotions? How can we cultivate emotions throughout the life course? When are emotions dysfunctional? What is love and happiness? What is anger and sadness? What is disgust and contempt? What is shame, guilt, and pride?

This course is graded pass/fail. To earn a pass grade you must attend the live seminar, present two (2) research projects at the seminar (based on any of the suggested research projects found at the end of each chapter of the text), and respond to questions distributed at the end of the seminar before the end of the term. You will be expected to have read all of the book before the seminar.