Honors Course Archive

In this course, we will investigate the Western narratives of the ‘discovery’ of unknown countries by reading a selection of travel narrative ranging from medieval times to the end of the 19th century. Our main goal is to examine travel writing as a literary genre and to analyze travel texts for their social, political, religious and cross-cultural implications. In examining narrative choices, writing styles and points of view and reflecting upon the social, religious and political pressures on them, we will gain a greater awareness of the ways in which individual travelers passed on knowledge of the world that they were discovering. Each text will be read in its uniqueness, but also in relation to the other texts as well as with respect to the historical context. We will also reflect upon and analyze a range of issues generated from their retelling of stories, their gathering of information and narrating experiences in order to detect problems of truth, and recognize real facts from fiction in a context where interest and curiosity about distant lands and people brought the idealization– or the denigration– of other cultures.

This is a student-centered class in which everyone will play a part in exploring the issues and questions arising from these texts. I will offer informal lectures in order to provide the historical and cultural backgrounds in which these texts are placed. You, however, will engage in conversations and discussions (in small groups or otherwise) wherein you will discuss your understanding of the literary texts, their form, cultural content and historical context before approaching your own writing. The main goal of this class is to help you become a proficient readers and writers while also giving you the opportunity to grow your ability to assess critically primary and secondary sources.

This course will be an introduction to modern Japan through films, in which we will use a wide variety of twentieth-century works to discuss an array of topics. Not only will we be viewing films in a variety of
genres — documentary, drama, comedy, historical pieces, the avant-garde, gangster films, and animation — we will also be discussing topics ranging from the nature of art to the moral questions of nuclear modernity. Although our discussions will be sensitive to the specific nature of film as an expressive medium, we will consider the topics of art, history, society, war, propaganda, tradition, and morality.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Latino contributions to popular music in the United States have too often been relegated to the margins of a narrative dominated by African and European Americans-an overly black and white view of our musical history. Latin music is often portrayed as an exotic resource for “American” musicians, as suggested by pianist Jelly Roll Morton’s reference to “the Latin Tinge.” This course turns that phrase and that perspective on its head. “American Sabor” addresses problems of cultural representation that concern an increasingly visible and influential community in the U.S. We will document the roles of U.S. Latino musicians as interpreters of Latin American genres. We will also highlight their roles as innovators within genres normally considered indigenous to the U.S., such as rock and roll, R & B, jazz, country/western, and hip hop. The course distinguishes regional centers of Latino population and music production-exploring unique histories,
artists, and musical styles. At the same time it draws out broader patterns of boundary crossing, language, social struggle, generational difference, racial/ethnic/class/gender
identification, and other factors that shape the experiences of U.S. Latinos everywhere.

COURSE GOALS

The goals of this course include learning to distinguish a variety of music styles and develop a rudimentary vocabulary for describing musical sounds and instruments; learning about the histories of specific U.S. Latinos and their music: learning about the ways Latino musicians have shaped U.S. popular music generally; and considering a variety of social and historical factors to which music-making in U.S. Latino communities responds, including immigration and migration, racism, gender inequality, the music industry and media generally, and changing U.S. identity politics.

Studies one big/epic novel by the titans of Russian literature per quarter. All readings are in English.

This quarter, the novel is “Oblomov” by Ivan Goncharov.

No other novel has been used to describe the “Russian mentality” or “Russian soul” as frequently as Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov. It was the favorite novel of both Leo Tolstoy and Samuel Beckett, while Anton Chekhov claimed that Goncharov stood “10 heads above me in talent.” Find out for yourselves why this epic of laziness is so highly esteemed by so many.

Storytelling is ancient, effective, and satisfying, but using stories to communicate the nuances and ambiguities of science can be a challenge. Clear and accurate science communication is crucial to understanding our world and how it changes. In this course students will craft presentations that reflect their personal interests in nature and science.

This class is centered around three presentations. The planetarium presentation is intended to develop the student’s storytelling skills, with the suggested subject being the origin myth of a constellation. The remaining two presentations are scientific in nature, and draw from the student’s interests in the natural world. Students will work closely in small groups as they develop their presentations, and the best (by peer evaluation) will be invited to present in front of the entire class.

Students who have previously taken “DNA and Evolution” are not eligible to enroll in this course again. Additionally, students who have taken or are planning to take BIOL 354 with Professor Herron should not register for this course as there is significant overlap in material.

Evolution and genetics are the cornerstones of modern biology. DNA & Evolution will explore these fields in the context of contemporary issues that are important to individuals and societies. Although examples will be drawn from a variety of organisms, the primary emphasis will be on humans. Among the questions we will consider are these: Where did modern humans come from? Why are women and men different? Why do children resemble their parents? Do genes influence variation in personality, intelligence, and sexual orientation? What can genetic analyses reveal about evolutionary history and the relationships among species? Can genetic analyses allow us to predict the evolutionary future? Given what our society knows about evolution and genetics, should we take responsibility for guiding the evolutionary future of human populations?

Throughout the course the goal will be to help students develop sufficient biological sophistication to understand new discoveries in genetics and evolution, talk to their doctors, and make rational personal and political choices about biological issues. Students will read secondary and primary literature, ask questions, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and draw their own conclusions.

Assignments will include essays, problem sets, and computer labs.

This is a course that considers the ethics that concern medical technology and the decisions
required to employ that technology. These issues affect every moment of life and beyond –
from before conception to after death. The course approaches these issues with real-world
cases and develops skills in writing, research, and group presentations.

Most weeks will consist of a lecture that provides some background for a given topic.
There will be an opportunity for questions during class time. The second class meeting has two
components: a round table discussion of a particular real-world case and a peer review of the
assigned paper. You will sit with the other writer and discuss each other’s papers. After this
exchange, you should be able to produce a polished paper for submission.

We will consider the following six interrelated propositions, and we will consider the implications of these propositions for the conduct of good (i.e., ethical and effective) leadership.

1. Leadership involves at its base the creation of a persuaded audience; but beyond that, leadership involves creating and sustaining a more thoughtful public, a public capable of rising above itself.

2. A more thoughtful public must not only be created and sustained, but, given that things inevitably fall apart, must be recovered and reconstituted.

3. Distinctions must be made in the leadership functions of (a) initiating, (b) sustaining, and (c) recovering and reconstituting. What it takes for a leader to sustain isn’t quite the same as what it takes to initiate, and neither of these approach what it takes to recover and reconstitute when the organization or regime falls apart.

4. Good leadership involves ethical and effective information seeking. A leader must have knowledge of what must be done, knowledge of what it takes to persuade others of what must be done (and, in persuading, helping to create a more thoughtful public), and knowledge of how an audience/public will respond. Only with a thorough understanding of the principles, strategies, and costs of information seeking will one be able to engage in ethical and effective leadership.

5. Leadership always has a political context; leadership in a democracy is necessarily different than leadership in other kinds of political regimes.

6. Leadership always involves assumptions (tacit and acknowledged) about human nature.

Sources of texts will include Tocqueville, Orwell, Machiavelli, Bacon, Dostoevsky, and Sophocles, as well as contemporary authors.

Method of instruction: close reading of texts, coupled with fifteen short papers on texts, plus a longer (9-10 page, single-spaced) synthesis paper; small and large group discussions with each other and visiting scholars/practitioners.

For further details, please see 230 class page at: https://catalyst.uw.edu/workspace/rsoder/7019. The class page links to most of the readings plus a draft of the Aut2016 syllabus. I strongly recommend consulting the syllabus with care in order to get a sense of expectations and consequent demands on your time.

You will note that some of the readings are deceptively short in length. For example, our readings from Tocqueville’s Democracy in America are all of thirteen pages. The Bacon essay, just three pages. But these texts (and others throughout the course) demand multiple close readings.

I will be glad to talk with you further about any aspect of the course. The surest way to reach me is via email: rsoder@uw.edu

This course explores the history of the social sciences from their advent in the nineteenth century until today, with a focus on the twentieth century. Social sciences examined include economics, psychology, history, sociology, anthropology, development studies, communications and linguistics, and geography. During the first class of each week, the instructor will give a lecture on the history of that week’s field. During the second class of each week, a student group will give an oral presentation on a major work from that week’s field. In addition to this presentation, student groups will be required to produce a co-authored seven-page paper that highlights the present status of the field they examined, including problems with the field and potential solutions to these problems. This paper will be due during finals week. Grades will be based on active participation throughout the semester, the group presentation, and the group paper.

The criminal justice system is a system for detecting and punishing those who break the law. The standard for criminal conviction is guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” To protect the innocent from wrongful conviction, there are numerous rights that are accorded to defendants, including the right to trial by a jury of one’s peers, the right against self-incrimination, the rules of evidence, the right to a court-appointed attorney, among many others. One question we will explore is: How reliable is the U.S. criminal justice system in convicting the truly guilty-that is, what percentage of defendants are found guilty really are guilty? Is this percentage different for different crimes or for crimes with different kinds of evidence? Is this percentage different for defendants of different races or different economic classes? What kinds of bias and at what stage of the process affect these percentages? What can and should be done about it?

Another question concerns the problem of differential rates of arrest and prosecution. Most evidence of drug use shows very little difference in rates of drug use among Whites and among African-Americans. If there were an unbiased system of arrest and prosecution, we would expect the racial make-up of those convicted of drug use to reflect the proportion of Whites and African-Americans in the general population. But this is not what we find. African-Americans are disproportionately arrested and convicted of drug use. What kinds of bias are responsible for these disproportionate results? What can and should be done about it?

These are the kinds of questions that the class will address. An important theme of the course will be that racial bias is an important element of bias in the criminal justice system, but it is not the only kind of bias. There are multiple levels of bias. We will make use of reports from the Innocence Project and other sources to obtain relevant statistical evidence on erroneous convictions and on bias in prosecutions and convictions.

The course readings will include selections from:
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, and Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy, as well as other readings. There will also be required course videos, including the Netflix documentary “Thirteenth” and Season 1 of the Netflix series “Making a Murderer.” (The UW Library has advised me that I cannot legally use my Netflix membership to show the series to the class, so students will have to have access to Netflix during the months of October and November. If you don’t have a Netflix account, I hope you have access to an account through a family member. If not, if you start a new membership, you can get your first month free, so you only have to pay for one month.) Season 2 of the series “Making a Murderer” is currently in production. If it is released in time, the students may also be required to watch some or all of it. The students will become conversant with research on the criminal justice system and they will define, research, and report on one or more elements of bias in the system. They will learn to build an argument based on analysis of factual information and on well-articulated and well-defended normative convictions.

Students will write short answers to questions in class, as well as a reading/video response paper, and two longer papers. Each student will also co-lead one class discussion.

A poll of journalists and scholars at the turn of the millennium found that their choice of the most important story of the twentieth century was the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The decision was perhaps the most controversial decision any president has made. Japanese and Americans see this decision in very different ways. In 2015, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the Pew Research Center carried out a joint opinion poll which found that 79% of Japanese said the bombing was “not justified,” while 56% of Americans considered it “justified.” Japanese believe that Japan was defeated and on the verge of surrender, while a majority of Americans hold that the use of the bomb was necessary in order to avoid a costly invasion.

This seminar course will consider the many aspects of this set of events, including: the origins of the Manhattan Project, Roosevelt’s unconditional surrender policy, American planning for the invasion of Japan and the use of the bomb, the Potsdam Declaration, Soviet entry into the war, Japan’s internal struggle over the decision to surrender, the continuing controversy among Japanese and American historians in interpreting motivations and responsibility, the Japanese sense of victimhood, issues of morality in warfare, and the consequent reflections on war and human nature in Japanese and American literature.

Historical controversy over the use of the atomic bomb has revolved around many issues including:

1.Was it necessary: was not Japan already defeated and on the verge of surrender?

2.Were there not viable alternatives such as a demonstration of the bomb or a naval blockade or modification of unconditional surrender policy or waiting for Soviet entry?

3.Was the second bomb on Nagasaki necessary?

4.Did use of the bomb save lives by averting an invasion?

5.Were the bombs morally justified?

This course offers the student an opportunity to see how historians and other social scientists dealing with the same sequence of events have come to a wide range of interpretations of its meaning. The course will consider the reasons why historians often differ in their interpretations, such as difference in motivation, selectivity in emphasis, generational and national perspective, bias, academic discipline, levels of analysis, and appearance of new materials of historical evidence. By its nature, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki decisions have been subject to the use of counterfactuals, i.e. questions of “What if…?” The course will consider the value of these questions and of assertion of alternative courses of action and “missed opportunities” to avoid the way in which the war terminated.

Ultimately, the course will force the student to grapple with achieving her/his own interpretation. It is not a course for the faint hearted. Rather, it is for the student who wants a challenge in order to improve her/his thinking, debating, research and writing ability.

The course will have no examination but each student will choose a topic of particular interest on which to do extensive research, to make an oral presentation to the seminar and to write a paper on the findings of the research. The approximate length of the paper is 15 pages. The paper will constitute 50% of the course grade. The oral presentation and participation in the seminar discussion will constitute the remainder of the grade.

For freshmen only, this course is an introduction to college-level methods of inquiry. Throughout your academic life at the university, you will be called upon to write, read and converse in order to absorb knowledge and test out ideas. Since academic disciplines are bound by their respective ways of knowing, and because other ways of knowing are empirical and creative, this course will present different ways of coming to knowledge. We’ll engage in reading, lectures, dialogue, persuasive writing, journalistic writing, writing for academic papers as well as in creative writing-poems, short stories and vignettes. Expect a lively forum for testing out ideas and a venue to enhance your writing repertoire.

Expectations for students include: attending all classes with the (substantial) assigned readings completed; contributing to small group presentations; considering one’s own belief systems and the belief systems in a respectful and curious manner; being willing to experiment in writing styles and genres. In the end, students should be active questioning learners and show evidence of this engagement.

Goals for the course include: learning how to negotiate and navigate with different ways of knowing; developing empathic and creative imagination; enhancing student writing; creating models for civic dialogue; and articulating individual learning.

The course will connect often-separated worlds of research and practice, university and “real world” expertise, and writing and dialogic education.

The Anthropocene presents us with the problem of all problems for the following reasons:
• It was a colossal accident.
• It is a consequence of the everyday life choices of over seven billion people.
• These choices are strongly driven by an amalgamation of psychological and institutional forces with deep historical and even biological roots.
• The everyday actions of a few of us are far greater drivers than those of most us, but our lower-impact members are quickly adopting the habits of the affluent.

Taken alone, each of these factors presents a conundrum; taken together, they cry out for deep inquiry into the peculiar place of the “anthros” in the scheme of things. The dawning of the Anthropocene seems to compel us to ask ourselves not only, “What on Earth are we doing?” but even more fundamentally, “What on Earth are we?” If nothing else, the new geological era highlights our species’ paradoxical relationship to the rest of creation. While these questions can be illuminated by the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, so too can we investigate them through personal and interpersonal introspection. For our complicity in the Anthropocene implies that each of us must answer the question, “Who am I in relation to this?” The very magnitude of the problem and its undeniable biophysical dimensions tend to transfix our gaze outwardly, yet coming to understand the “anthros” must surely also entail looking within.

The premise of this course is that cognition will be necessary but not sufficient on addressing the global challenges of the 21st century. Rather than studying such issues as climate change, the extinction crisis, world food challenges, and global justice as happening only “out there,” we will view them as also happening “in here” by continually asking ourselves, “Who am in relation to this?” This holistic approach involves integrating cognitive learning with affective and somatic awareness through reflective and contemplative exercises and community.

Course requirements will include:
• Intensive reading on the human and biophysical dimensions of the Anthropocene
• Active participation in seminar discussions
• A daily reflective or contemplative practice
• Writing in both a private journal and a public blog
• Bi-weekly meetings with your “study buddy”
• A class-wide community service project
• A final creative project (paper, video, performance, multi-media) addressing the question, “Who am I in the Anthropocene?”

Insofar as scientists use language and visual displays to communicate with others, they use rhetoric, selecting some aspects of reality to convey, and deflecting other aspects of reality from attention. Studying how scientists use rhetoric to communicate, and how nonscientists use rhetoric to argue about science and its effects in the public sphere, students in this class will discover the means of persuasion available to shape science, its products, and the relationship between both and the publics that surround them. Those who are considering a career in science will learn how to think critically about the internal and external discourse of science, improving their use of rhetorical tools in the process. Those who do not intend to become scientists will learn how to critically analyze the claims of science and respond thoughtfully and effectively to its potential influence on them in the modern world.

Student Learning Goals:
-Understand and critically evaluate scholarship on the rhetoric of science.
-Identify, define and use rhetorical concepts in the analysis of communication about science.
-Recognize the means of persuasion that can be utilized by scientists in communicating with other scientists and/or the public.
-Recognize the means of persuasion that can be utilized by advocates critiquing or protesting against science and/or its consequences in the public sphere.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
An exploration and critique of the dominant themes and paradigms which have shaped Western European thought, with special focus on concepts of “woman” and “man.” Theories of knowledge and reality will also be covered. Feminist perspectives will be studied along with more traditional viewpoints.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
-To provide an overview of the dominant philosophical paradigms in western thought
-To assess such paradigms critically, especially from feminist perspectives
-To become familiar with the concepts of major thinkers regarding “woman” and “man”
-To analyze the social and metaphysical contexts for these concepts
-To develop the student’s ability to analyze and formulate theory
-To facilitate the thoughtful verbal and written expression of knowledge gained this term (including material for portfolios)

HONORS 100 brings first quarter Interdisciplinary Honors students together for a common experience in order to introduce the value of interdisciplinary education and the importance of the integration of knowledge, as well as to help you form connections with your peers and other members of the Honors community. This course is an introduction to the Honors core curriculum and requirements, with the goal of helping students imagine moving your work beyond the classroom into areas such as research, leadership, community and, ultimately, both local and global engagement.

HONORS 100 will have three larger lecture meetings throughout the quarter; during the rest of the quarter you will meet in small sections led by a Peer Educator, with a small group of other first quarter Honors students. The lectures will serve as an opportunity to meet others in the Honors community and to acquire a common grounding in the goals and values of the Honors Program; the sections will provide students with a smaller peer cohort, a current student mentor in the form of their HONORS 100 PE, and a chance to get to know the many opportunities of the Honors Program on a personal level.

Additionally, throughout the quarter you will also get to:
– Meet a few of the many Honors faculty, who will discuss how they came to study what they do, how they gather evidence and resources in their respective disciplines, and why they teach what they do;
– Meet a few alums and hear about their experiences in UW Honors and beyond; and
– Create your Honors Portfolio and learn how to engage in at least two experiential learning projects during your time at the UW. The portfolio process emphasizes critical reflection of your learning experiences, both inside and outside of the traditional classroom.

HONORS 100 brings first quarter Interdisciplinary Honors students together for a common experience in order to introduce the value of interdisciplinary education and the importance of the integration of knowledge, as well as to help you form connections with your peers and other members of the Honors community. This course is an introduction to the Honors core curriculum and requirements, with the goal of helping students imagine moving your work beyond the classroom into areas such as research, leadership, community and, ultimately, both local and global engagement.

HONORS 100 will have three larger lecture meetings throughout the quarter; during the rest of the quarter you will meet in small sections led by a Peer Educator, with a small group of other first quarter Honors students. The lectures will serve as an opportunity to meet others in the Honors community and to acquire a common grounding in the goals and values of the Honors Program; the sections will provide students with a smaller peer cohort, a current student mentor in the form of their HONORS 100 PE, and a chance to get to know the many opportunities of the Honors Program on a personal level.

Additionally, throughout the quarter you will also get to:
– Meet a few of the many Honors faculty, who will discuss how they came to study what they do, how they gather evidence and resources in their respective disciplines, and why they teach what they do;
– Meet a few alums and hear about their experiences in UW Honors and beyond; and
– Create your Honors Portfolio and learn how to engage in at least two experiential learning projects during your time at the UW. The portfolio process emphasizes critical reflection of your learning experiences, both inside and outside of the traditional classroom.

This course is an upper division class examining the history of ancient architecture, beginning with the earliest known structures in the prehistoric period around 10,000 BCE and ending around the 11th century CE. The requirements are regular attendance of weekly lectures, written assignments and a mid term and final exam. The Honors discussion section meets once a week with the class instructor to facilitate a more critical engagement with the historical survey material presented in the thrice-weekly lectures. Emphasis shall be placed on the exploration of contemporary concerns within the context of the survey’s major themes that include architecture as a second nature; origins and mythologies of first cities; power, politics and space; concepts of the sacred; and gender and space.

Course Objectives:
· Understand the built environment of the past and present as an expression of the social, technological and aesthetic forces of the societies that built them and as settings for their everyday life, rites and rituals.

·Demonstrate an understanding of architectural vocabulary by being able to define building types and key terms that relate to design, construction and materials.

·Understand drawing conventions in architectural drawing (for eg: plan, section, elevation, perspectives and details) as a means to describe three-dimensional objects and sites.

·Demonstrate the capacity to critically analyze the key works and communicate ideas effectively about the built environment in a series of writing assignments and tests, and in class discussions.

·Foster an appreciation for built works not just as self-contained physical artifacts of a distant past but as social, living texts that express the complexities and contradictions of the cultures of the past and of the present

For Biochemistry majors and molecular and cell biology majors. Core concepts in biochemistry, including protein structure, compartmentalization of reactions, thermodynamics and kinetics in a biological context, energy production, and regulation of metabolic pathways. HONORS BIOC covers the same topics as BIOC 440, but emphasizes group exercises and analysis of primary literature.

CHEM 145 and CHEM 155 cover material in CHEM 142, CHEM 152, and CHEM 162. Includes laboratory. No more than the number of credits indicated can be counted toward graduation from the following course groups: CHEM 142, CHEM145 (5 credits); CHEM 145, CHEM 155, CHEM 162 (10 credits).

For chemistry majors and otherwise qualified students planning three or more quarters of organic chemistry. Structure, nomenclature, reactions, and synthesis of organic compounds. Theory and mechanism of organic reactions. Studies of biomolecules. No organic laboratory accompanies this course. No more than 5 credits can be counted toward graduation from the following course group: CHEM 221, CHEM 223, CHEM 237, CHEM 335.

Basic programming-in-the-small abilities and concepts including procedural programming (methods, parameters, return values) , basic control structures (sequence, if/else, for loop, while loop), file processing, arrays and an introduction to defining objects.

Continuation of CSE 142. Concepts of data abstraction and encapsulation including stacks, queues, linked lists, binary trees, recursion, instruction to complexity and use of predefined collection classes. Prerequisite: CSE 142.

Examines the structure of the American legal system and how laws are made. Surveys key doctrinal areas of the law learning fundamental legal concepts, and explore how the law functions and evolves over time, including legal issues and decision-making related to statutory or common law.

Covers the material of MATH 124, MATH 125, MATH 126; MATH 307, MATH 308. First year of a two-year accelerated sequence. May receive advanced placement (AP) credit for MATH 124 after taking MATH 134. For students with above average preparation, interest, and ability in mathematics.

Introduction to proofs and rigor; uniform convergence, Fourier series and partial differential equations, vector calculus, complex variables. Students who complete this sequence are not required to take MATH 300, MATH 309, MATH 324, MATH 327, MATH 328, and MATH 427. Second year of an accelerated two-year sequence; prepares students for senior-level mathematics courses.

Basic principles of mechanics and experiments in mechanics for physical science and engineering majors. Lecture tutorial and lab components must all be taken to receive credit. Credit is not given for both PHYS 114 and PHYS 121.

This honors seminar seeks to explore the interface between poetry and the healing arts and science. In an age when technology dominates our daily experience, the emotional parameters of illness are often overshadowed. The human brain has not changed in the last ten thousand years in its need for expression surrounding fear and grief. We will review brain anatomy and physiology, and correlate brain domains thought to be essential to the creative process and the use of functional MRI scans to investigate these brain structures.

Students will start by acquiring basic poetic craft and techniques to bring music and emotion into language. The history of poetry in medicine will be examined: its value in retrospective reflection, as a tool for teaching compassion to medical students, and as a vehicle for expression in mentally and physically afflicted patients. Renowned physician-poets will be discussed and each student will participate in vocalization of a selection of their poems. Cross cultural traditions will be honored.

The format of the class will be in a round table, workshop tradition with constructive, collegial critique. Each student will be required to generate “in-class” writing as well as weekly writing assignments, and to create 3-4 poems relevant to illness, death and healing. A broad spectrum of environmental, socio-political and personal grief can be the subjects for powerful poems that move us.

An editor, co-editor and graphic design artist and publicity agent will be chosen by the class to produce a 30-40 page book of poetry for publication by the University by the end of the seminar. A group reading at the University Bookstore or Seattle venue, in which all students must participate, will be graded as the final examination. My role will be as a facilitator and guide to provoke thought, to generate innovative poems, and to open minds and hearts to the possibilities of poetry for self exploration in the realm of illness, death and healing.