Return to class (without the tests!)
The Holy Cross Alumni Association’s “Classroom Revisited ’13” will be offering a new twist to its 31st annual spring event: we’ve recruited some of Holy Cross’ most respected professors, all of whom are Holy Cross graduates themselves, to conduct the day’s “classes.” As the College celebrates 40 years of coeducation this year, “Classroom Revisited” shines a wonderful light on the talented men and women who have returned to campus to help educate today’s HC students.
Participants may choose from one of the engaging lectures and workshops during each of the day’s three sessions. Visit the
course description brochure (pdf) for more information.
The program cost is $30 per person and includes breakfast and lunch. All "classes" will be held in the Hogan Campus Center.
**CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE**
SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY
Session 1 (10:00 – 11:15 a.m.)
Session 2 (11:30 - 12:45 p.m.)
Lunch
Session 3 (2:15 – 3:30 p.m.)
Mass (4:30 p.m.)
Mary Chapel
Course Descriptions
Introduction to Gregorian Chant
Daniel DiCenso ’98, Music
Hard to believe it, but Gregorian chant is everywhere in our modern lives: in church and at the concert hall, yes, but also in yoga class, at the movies, on the radio, on YouTube, in video games—even at bars and night clubs. But what is Gregorian chant? Where did Gregorian chant come from? Who composed chant and for whom was it composed? What was—and what is—the function of Gregorian chant with regard to music, worship and theology? How, exactly, does chant continue to communicate notions of identity, spirituality, conflict, and power thousands of years after its composition? How has Gregorian chant managed to persist and survive over a thousand years? In this class you will come to understand Gregorian chant from its beginnings in the Early Christian era all the way to the present day.
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Nanotechnology: Separating Fact From Fiction on the Scientific Frontier
Joshua Farrell ’94, Chemistry
Nanotechnology is the study of materials that are somewhere between one and 1000 nanometers in size (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter), a size regime where materials often exhibit interesting properties somewhere between individual atoms and those of bulk materials. The use of nanotechnology can turn traditional fabrication on its head, where instead of using a “top-down” approach, where one starts with a large piece of material and removes portions of it (e.g. the way computer chips are currently made), instead we can now use a “bottom-up” approach where individual atoms are placed where they are needed to make a device. Nanotechnology receives a lot of hype in the popular press, so we will look at a brief history of the field and try and separate fantasy (Why exactly did they freeze Ted Williams’ head in liquid nitrogen?) from reality. We will highlight examples of current research in such diverse fields as medical diagnostics, molecular electronics, advanced materials, sensors and microfluidics.
Suggested Preparation:
A transcript of the classic talk that Richard Feynman gave on December 29, 1959 at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society that is looked at as the birth of the field. Please visit this website: http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html
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Developing a Discerning Heart – An Introduction to Ignatian Decisionmaking
Marybeth Kearns-Barrett ’84 P14,13, Chaplains’ Office
What can we learn from a 16th century Spanish knight turned founder of religious order about making important life decisions in the 21st century? This session will begin with an introduction to Ignatian discernment and will include a discussion of the role discernment plays in the life of undergraduates at Holy Cross today. We will also look at the role discernment can play in the lives of our alumni. We will conclude the session with a 30 minute discernment exercise based on the Ignatian examination of consciousness, not to be confused with an examination of conscience! Participants will also receive resources to take home to help continue their practice of discernment.
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“A Day with Mrs. Dalloway”
Lisa Fluet ’96, English
“We are always getting away from the present moment.”
~H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895)
Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway is one of the more famous twentieth-century novels devoted to depicting the interdependent lives of urban dwellers during the course of a single day. How to conceive of “everyday-ness” ethically, as well as how to formally depict in fiction the structure and momentum of a single, ordinary day in modern time, will be our focus during our single day spent with Woolf.
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Considering Technology: Its Impact on Us and Our Society
Ellen Keohane ’83, Information Technology Services/Philosophy
We are in a fascinating period of time— this technological age. In this workshop you are invited to consider the role of technology in your own life and in our society. Is technology really a tool that we control or is it now controlling us? Are the benefits worth the trade offs and disruptions? Have we lost ourselves in some sense, especially with respect to our relationships with others? We will consider these questions, guided by the “heavy hitters” of philosophy: Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, who all spoke about technology (from the Greek term techne). Perhaps with their help we can arrive at a more authentic relationship to technology moving forward.
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What Was the Gilded Age (and Are We in Another One Now)?
Edward O’Donnell ’86, History
In recent years a spate of books and articles have been published with the phrase “New Gilded Age” or “Second Gilded Age” in their title. All examine current social, political, and economic problems in the United States (growing income inequality, Wall Street malfeasance, and vehement anti-immigrant sentiment—just to name a few) with an eye toward the first Gilded Age (1870-1900). That was a period when America experienced astonishing growth in prosperity, population, and industry, but also urban squalor, political corruption, worker exploitation, Robber Baron ruthlessness, and an alarming growth in the gap between rich and poor. This session will examine this first Gilded Age and the key issues it raised, as well as how out of its turmoil the U.S. entered a period (The Progressive Era) marked by wide-ranging reform movements. The last portion will offer a comparison between the first Gilded Age and our current situation.
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Memory and Motivation in the Classroom and Beyond
Ericka Fisher ’96, Education
Learning is simply one’s capacity to adapt and make changes based on experience. The hope is, that as humans, we begin learning at birth and continue throughout our lifetime. However, two key elements, beyond content and information, must play an integral part in order for learning to take place. How do we process information and improve memory? What role does motivation play in the learning process? In this class we will examine these questions, through the use of theory and practice, and explore how to improve memory and motivation in the classroom and beyond.
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Curating Art Worlds: Cantor Art Gallery 2012-2013 Collaborations with Student Docents
Roger Hankins, Cantor Art Gallery
Susan Rodgers, Sociology & Anthropology
Hana Carey ’13, Janelle Di Martino ’13, Tricia Giglio ’14,
Annie Le ’13 and Martha Walters ’14
This interactive class details some of the ways that recent exhibitions at the Cantor Art Gallery have been “brought to life” this year for multiple on- and off-campus publics by Holy Cross student docents. Focus will be on 2012-2013 exhibitions. These include “Create” from fall semester 2012, an exhibition organized by the UC Berkeley Art Museum which traveled to Holy Cross. “Create” focused on 20 artists with developmental and physical disabilities who work at three pioneering art programs in Northern California. A sister exhibit, “Community Threads” (with textiles woven at Worcester’s Seven Hills Foundation by individuals with physical challenges) was mounted (fall-spring) in the Cantor Resource Gallery. In spring 2013 until March 1, student docents were central to “Transnational Ikat: An Asian Textile on the Move”; this show concerned the vibrant commercialization of a “traditional” village textile type from Indonesia and Malaysia. Student fieldwork research in Southeast Asia in summer 2012 helped shape docent gallery tours for “Transnational Ikat.” Digital humanities work on exhibition websites this year also enlivened these extraordinary shows. We ask: What underlies a successful exhibition? How can Holy Cross students be central to this work?
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Work, Family, and Christian Ethics
Mary Doyle Roche ’90, Religious Studies
Why do we work? What gives our work meaning? What does it mean to balance work and family in the 21st century? This class will explore work and family as ethical themes in Christianity and will incorporate traditions of virtue, vocation, social justice, and feminist ethics. We will consider the meanings and goals of work and family each in its own right and will also cover contemporary dilemmas at the intersection of work and family life. Our discussion will expand moral reflection beyond some of the highly publicized debates to a thoughtful reflection on the morality of everyday life and practices that might sustain Christian discipleship at work and at home.
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