Liberal Arts Voices

Read the perspectives of our current students

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 43 “Let’s Talk about Sex”

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Love is in the air during this special Valentine’s edition of the Liberal Arts Voices podcast!

In episode 43, Deniz Durmus and Axelle Karera, graduate instructors in the Department of Philosophy, join co-hosts Dean Long and John Dolan to talk about PHIL 014: Philosophy of Love and Sex.

PHIL 014 is an exploration of theories and attitudes about love and sexuality.  As instructors of the course, Deniz and Axelle talk about the broad range of topics covered–including monogamy, homosexuality, pornography, and masturbation–that provide students with the opportunity to consider the complicated ethical, social, and political issues associated with human sexuality.

They also talk about the transformative nature of the course, as it challenges and expands students’ existing perceptions and beliefs about intimacy.  In addition to traditional resident instruction sections of the course, online sections are also available to students. The group discusses the differences between the online and the face-to-face experience and how each delivery method offers unique advantages to classroom dynamics and discussion. 

For scheduling information about PHIL 014: Philosophy of Love and Sex, as well as other Philosophy summer courses, go to http://laus.la.psu.edu/summer/phil.  

To browse all of the Liberal Arts summer courses and to register, visit our Liberal Arts Summer Offerings page at http://apps.la.psu.edu/summer_offerings/

For a student’s perspective on the course, read “Why I loved PHIL 014,” written by recent Penn State graduate Melanie Versaw.

Click the link below to listen to this podcast episode:
Liberal Arts Voice Podcast: Episode 43 “Let’s Talk about Sex”

Why I Loved PHIL 014

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Melanie Versaw ('12) by LAUSatPSU
Melanie Versaw (’12),
a photo by LAUSatPSU on Flickr.

This post is written by Melanie Versaw, who graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in May 2012 with a BS in Marketing and a BA in Advertising. 


[Here is the Schedule of Available Summer Courses in Philosophy.]

As a Penn State graduate, I can honestly say that my education at Penn State was diverse, fascinating, and challenging. There are several classes that I would retake in a heartbeat, but the one that sticks out the most is PHIL 014: Philosophy of Love and Sex.

I majored in both Marketing in the Smeal College of Business and Advertising in the College of Communications, so I had never taken a philosophy class in my life. The great thing about Penn State, though, is that general education classes are required. Thus came my search for a meaningful GH course that would both challenge me and make a lasting impact. Scrolling through the countless courses, I came across PHIL 014 and I was SOLD. Who doesn’t like talking about sex? What I got out of this course, though, was so much more than I ever thought possible.

This class starts out with a bunch of students discussing what we believe the notion of love and sex to be about. Then it digs deeper. You learn about different types of friendship, the history of homosexuality, and how men try to pick up women. The topics are wide and the discussions intelligent. You learn to cherish your friendships and challenge social norms.
Your class experience, however, depends on how much the class is willing to open up and discuss taboo subjects. I’ll admit, some discussions lead to analyzing threesomes or fetishes. But that’s all part of the course.

If you are looking for a great GH course, seriously consider taking this class. You learn so much about theories of love, why we are kind of crazy about sex, and most of all: you learn a ton about yourself.

WARNING: This is a philosophy class and therefore has plenty of readings to be completed. Don’t fret, though. The readings are all incredibly interesting. I promise.

Melanie Versaw currently works in Carmel, Indiana, for Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies as a Marketing Specialist, and she is a lead Penn State recruiter for Ingersoll Rand. She is also a photographer and can be contacted at Mel Versaw Photography.  (Twitter handle: @MelanieVersaw)

Get to Know Penn State Tech Tutors!

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TechTutor4.jpgDo you need help with an assignment that requires technology?  Are you wondering how you’re going to create that presentation in PowerPoint, spreadsheet in Excel, or journal entry in Blogs at Penn State?  Then you need to check out Penn State Tech Tutors!

The Tech Tutors service is a free student-to-student tutoring program that provides assistance with class assignments that involve the use of technology.  Tutors are tech-savvy students trained by ITS Training Services, and they can offer help with programs such as Access, Blogs at Penn State, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, ANGEL, Word, WikiSpaces, InDesign, and more.

If you need help with technology for a class project, look for the folks in the purple shirts!  Currently, they can be found in two computer labs on campus: 201 Pollock Building and study room W122 in the Knowledge Commons of Pattee Library.  Tech Tutors are available during regular walk-in hours between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or you can email them at techtutors@psu.edu to schedule an appointment.
Find out more about Penn State Tech Tutors on their website, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter for tech tips and updates.

Photo by Penn State Tech Tutors.

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 42 “The HESE Program”

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Episode 42 of the Liberal Arts Voices podcast features Khanjan Mehta, director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program at Penn State.  Susan Knell, director of the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network, also joins co-hosts Dean Long and John Dolan for this episode.

Dr. Mehta talks about the mission of HESE, which is to bring together students and faculty from a variety of disciplines to develop, design, and implement humanitarian projects in the developing world.  The group discusses recent HESE projects that focus on the development of technology-based solutions to problems facing developing countries. HESE teams transform these solutions into sustainable and scalable ventures that enable positive social change.  Projects have taken HESE teams of students and faculty to Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and many other parts of the world. 

Dr. Mehta also talks about the opportunities of the HESE program for Liberal Arts students, who bring a valuable perspective and skill set to the HESE teams.  For more information about the program and its course offerings, please visit the HESE website. 

To learn more about HESE’s mission, view WPSU’s “Global Penn State: Kenya” video to hear students and faculty talk about their entrepreneurial ventures in Kenya:

Listen to this podcast episode to learn about HESE:
Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 42: “The HESE Program”
Please note that the “clicking” noise heard at the beginning of the podcast ends approximately 30 seconds into the recording.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

An Open Letter from John Ochoa, Director of Latina/o Studies

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The following letter was published in the Saturday, December 8, 2012 edition of the Centre Daily Times.  It is shared here in its entirety.

To the Editors:

The faculty of the Latina/o Studies Program at Penn State would like to express their deep sadness about the recent pictures that have appeared on the web of members of the Nu Gamma chapter of Chi Omega sorority.  In them, Penn State students are dressed in mock Mexican attire and bear signs with offensive and stereotypical messages. We clearly condemn this type of behavior and expect the University and the Pan Hellenic council to review the matter carefully, and if necessary, take appropriate action.

The pictures speak for themselves.  They reveal deep ignorance, insensitivity, but worst of all a profound lack of thought about the implications of what these young people clearly thought was acceptable behavior. They probably assumed their actions were harmless good fun, and not meant to hurt anybody.  Perhaps they assumed this display would be seen only by themselves and would not be damaging to anybody else.

The students were wrong on both counts. What people do precisely when they are not thinking, and when they think no one else is watching, reveals deep truths about their true convictions, or worse yet, about their poverty: of knowledge, of maturity, of plain common sense.  We, the faculty of Latino/a Studies, have dedicated our careers to combatting this kind of thoughtlessness by teaching–the history, experience, culture and importance of Latinos, exactly the same hard-working people being mocked by these young women.  We are here to help and hope there are lessons to be learned, not only by these students, but all of the Penn State community and beyond, in this deeply troubling event.

–John Ochoa, Director of Latina/o Studies, on behalf of its faculty. 

Cortney Stevens Named Liberal Arts Student Marshal

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Cortney Stevens of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., has been selected as the student marshal for Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts for the fall undergraduate commencement ceremony on December 22, 2012.  She will graduate with B.A. degrees in Psychology, Spanish, and Global and International Studies, and has selected Melanie Archangeli, Lecturer in Spanish, as her faculty marshal at the ceremony.

The daughter of Lynne and Scott Stevens, Cortney has been on the dean’s list every semester. She participated in a study abroad language program in Seville, Spain, and served as a research assistant at the Language and Cognition Laboratory on campus.

Her honors include the Evan Pugh Scholar Award for superior academic excellence, the Bayard Kunkle Scholarship, and the Psi Chi International Honor Society for Psychology. She also has been active in the Penn State Spanish Club, the FOTO organization and the OPP (operations) committee for THON, the Campus Band, and the Sinfonietta Orchestra at Penn State.

In the fall, Cortney will be pursuing her life’s dream of teaching English in Spain through the Spanish Government for a period of one to two years.  Upon her return, Cortney plans to enter graduate school to pursue an advanced degree in Psychology. 

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 41 “The CDD”

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In episode 41 of the Liberal Arts Voices podcast, co-hosts Dean Long and John Dolan, Director of Digital Media and Pedagogy, welcome the co-directors of the Center for Democratic Deliberation, Debra Hawhee, professor of English, and J. Michael Hogan, Liberal Arts Research Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences.

As leaders of the Center for Democratic Deliberation (CDD), Debra and Mike talk about its mission as a center for teaching, outreach, and research focused on the quality of public deliberation.  They share their thoughts on what deliberation is, particularly in comparison to debate, and the group discusses the role and effects of deliberation and debate within this week’s presidential election.  Their discussion includes information about the CDD’s blog, which was established to provide students and faculty with a forum for thoughtful deliberation on a variety of critical issues.

Debra and Mike also provide an overview of some of the opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved with the CDD.  For more information about these opportunities, please visit the CDD website.

Listen to the podcast to learn about the CDD:

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 41 “The CDD”

Subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

Scheduling Tips for First-Year Students

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Daily Planner.JPGAre you ready to schedule courses for the spring semester?  This post includes some great tips and reminders that might help first-year students  with the scheduling process, including how to schedule courses, what to do when courses are full, and how to find courses to fulfill specific requirements.

To schedule courses:

  • Find out your first day to register by checking the first page of your degree audit or by consulting the Registration Timetable.
  • If you have not yet met with your adviser to discuss the courses you would like to add for the Spring 2013 semester, please consult the Recommended Academic Plan for your intended major before scheduling. It is still recommended that you schedule an appointment with your adviser to discuss your course schedule prior to the end of this semester.
  • Use the Schedule of Courses to select the courses you prefer.
  • On or after your first day to register, use the Registration and Drop/Add Instructions and Registration Tips.
  • After you complete registration, check the “Student Schedule” on eLion to verify your course selections. For important dates and deadlines for the spring semester, refer to the Academic Calendar.
  • For a quick overview of how to register for courses, please refer to the video tutorial below.


To find courses to fulfill specific requirements:

  • Under degree requirements on the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies website, click on any requirement listed to view courses that qualify under the requirement you chose.
  • On the Schedule of Courses, use “Additional Search Criteria” to choose a specific type of requirement, such as General Education Requirements, Writing Intensive Courses, U.S. Cultures, International Cultures, and Other Cultures. The search will display courses that meet the specific criteria you selected.

To add a course that is full:
At this point in the semester, you will find that many spring courses are already full. Don’t worry; there are steps you can take to add a course that is full.  A list of tips to schedule a full course can be found at http://www.psu.edu/dus/dus101/classful.htm.

For more information and additional help regarding the registration process, please visit: http://www.psu.edu/dus/handbook/register.html.

Happy Scheduling!

Considering Late-Dropping a Course?

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Confused.JPGSo, the regular period to drop or add a course from your schedule has expired, and now you’re realizing that a course you are taking just isn’t for you.  You may wonder what your options are and how they may affect you. 

You do have an option, and it’s called a “late drop.” 

When you enroll at Penn State, you receive 16 late drop credits over your tenure as a student.  It is important that you use those credits wisely because you cannot receive more.    The period to use your late drop credits this semester began September 1 and will end November 16. 
 
Before using your late drop credits, you might consider the following:

1.  What is your reason for considering the drop?  
If your reason is that you are having a difficult time with the course material, determine (using a degree audit in eLion) if this course is required for your major.  If so, dropping may not be a good option since you’ll be required to take this course again.  However, if you will likely receive a failing grade or a lower grade than you want or need to meet a requirement, you may decide to late drop the class.

If you have a heavy course load but foresee an upcoming semester where a particularly difficult class can be paired with some less rigorous options, late dropping may be for you.

Many other reasons exist that may cause you to consider late dropping a course: financial difficulty, personal/home obligations that are time-consuming and require you to have a lower credit load, realizing the course is not a requirement for you and this semester is more demanding than anticipated, etc.  Any of these reasons should be weighed in light of the pros and cons discussed in this post and in consultation with an academic adviser.  

2.  How many late-drop credits do you have remaining?
If you are nearing the end of your 16 credits, look to the future.  How many semesters do you have left?  Will you need those remaining credits at another point that may be more critical?

3.  Will late dropping this course reduce your credit load below 12 credits?
If so, you will no longer be a full-time student, which may impact your financial aid and/or your health insurance coverage.  In this case, do not late-drop the course until speaking with the Office of Student Aid (814-865-6301) and checking with your health insurance carrier.

4. Is this course a prerequisite for future courses you’ll need or desire to take?
If so, late-dropping this course could jeopardize your progress toward graduation and may not be right for you.

After reading this post, you might be thinking, “I guess late dropping is not right for me.  What do I do now?”  Consider talking to your professor for feedback and recommendations on how you can improve in the class.  Consider attending a tutoring session with Penn State Learning, and visit your adviser to discuss options.  You should also visit your adviser if reading this post did not clarify whether using late drop credits is a good idea in your case.
  
Now you might be asking, “How exactly do I late-drop a course?”  Late dropping a course is actually a very simple process.  Log into your eLion account, and complete the Late Course Drop application prior to the deadline on November 16, 2012.  You can also complete a Registration Drop/Add Form so that the drop can be processed by an adviser, the department offering the course, or the Registrar’s Office.   Please keep in mind that you will be charged a $6 processing fee for every course that you late drop.

Be sure to contact your adviser for additional advice, feedback, and answers related to late-dropping a course.

LAUS Wants to Hear from You!

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Newswire.jpgThroughout the year, Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies (LAUS) sends out an email newswire that includes information, announcements, and updates pertaining to the College of the Liberal Arts.  In an effort to provide the most relevant, timely, and accessible content, we want to know what you think of the Liberal Arts newswire.

Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts and feedback about the weekly newswire in this quick survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BNCCW97 

We appreciate your help and look forward to hearing from you!

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