Integrative Experience (IE)
Courses

Integrative Experience
The founders of the college held that “technology divorced from humanity is worse than no technology at all.” To explore the meaning of the founders’ vision, students choose a one-semester integrative experience (IE) course that explores the interaction between science, technology and society. IE courses may be offered by any academic department, and they are frequently team-taught. The IE program is supervised by the Curriculum Committee.

An IE course may be (1) a faculty-initiated course/experience or (2) a student initiated experience. Included in category (1) are (a) courses that include consideration of one or more issues involving the relationship of science or technology with contemporary society; (b) courses offered in parallel with Clinic or research involving groups of students in critical reflection on the ethical and social issues involved in their projects and/or prior projects; and (c) project-based courses that specifically address a societal need, in the performance of which students substantively consider the wider set of societal issues that create the context and need for their actions. In category (2), a student-initiated experience is an independent project/experience designed by a student or a group of students that includes treatment of specific interactions between science/technology and society. Students proposing an experience must complete the online form prior to close of business on the first day of the semester. In all IE course/experiences, there should be a final paper or project with demonstrable evidence of significant self-reflection and critical analysis, and an oral presentation of the work in a forum that allows open discussion of the work in a community setting. The Curriculum Committee will be responsible for determining whether a course or experience meets the IE guidelines. With the exception of student initiated IEs, courses/experiences to be taken for IE credit must be approved by the Curriculum Committee prior to the pre-registration period for the semester in which the course is to be offered or the project/experience is to be undertaken. An IE course cannot be taken with a Pass/Fail grading type to satisfy the IE graduation requirement. A list of currently approved Integrative Experience courses and guidelines for creating individual Integrative Experiences is maintained by the Office of the Dean of Faculty.
 
INTEGRATIVE EXPERIENCE (IE) COURSES
142. Seminar in Math and Science Education (3)
Yong, Dodds. Students will learn about and contribute to math and science education in our community. Over the course of the semester, students observe math and science classrooms and reach out to integrate with our readings and discussions, which will be centered around questions such as What is effective math and science teaching?, What is effective math and science education?, and How does math and science education impact our society? (Fall)

144. Mathematics, Music, Art: Cosmic Harmony (3)
Alves, Orrison. A seminar exploring some of the many intersections between mathematics and music within our own and non-Western cultures, including proportion in art, tuning systems, algorithmic composition, artificial intelligence and creativity, and music synthesis. The class will also examine the ethical, aesthetic, and cultural ramifications of compression technology, sampling, downloading, and the effects of technology on music and vice-versa. (Fall)

150. Public Speaking for Science and Citizenship (3)
Steinberg. This course builds student speaking skills in three areas: communicating advanced topics in science and technology to non-specialists; speaking out on questions of politics and values; and engaging the intersection of the two through presentations on technically intensive social controversies. 3 credit hours. (Fall)

162. Beyond Calculation (3)
Erlinger. Students will review the history of computing, the current state of computing, and various predictions of the future of computing through lecture, literature research, presentations and short papers. The reviews will encompass social and economic aspects of computing along with the technical aspects. Using the above three views of computing and their breadth in science and the humanities, students will produce their own prediction of everyday computing in ten or fifteen years. These predictions will be done by means of a research paper and class presentation. Student predictions will include all aspects of the computing equation: scientific, economic and social. (Fall)

171. Building Los Angeles (3)
Groves and Petersen. This course explores the complex network of urban communities in which we live in order that we might think more deeply about the relationship of the built to the natural environment. To complicate our conceptions of Los Angeles, we will consider the city’s history and the massive infrastructure that allows it to function. We will focus for a substantial part of the course on architecture, which can be a profound expression of the relationship between the built and the natural. And we will explore contemporary developments, including adaptive re-use, the new urbanism, and green design. (Offered alternate years in Fall semester)

185. Human Physiology and Disease (3)
Staff. This course will provide an overview of the organ systems in the human body and their corresponding diseases. Lectures will provide the general background in human anatomy and physiology, while student-driven presentations will examine diseases and disease-related issues that impact our society. Prerequisites: Bio 52 or approval from instructor. (Spring)

198. Social Choice and Decision Making (3) (Also listed as Mathematics 188)
Su. Basic concepts of game theory and social choice theory, representations of games, Nash equilibria, utility theory, non-cooperative games, cooperative games, voting games, paradoxes, Arrow’s impossibility theorem, Shapley value, power indices, “fair division” problems and applications. Prerequisite: Math 63 and (recommended) Math 55 or permission of instructor. (Offered alternate years in Spring)
 
Other courses can be designated as IE courses depending on the instructor and teaching methods of the course for the semester. Such courses have included the following:
 
ANTH110. Life: Knowledge and Practices
ANTH111. Introduction to the Anthropology of Science and Technology
BIOL082. Current Issues in Biology
ECON150. Political Economy of Higher Education
ENGR138. Introduction to Environmental Engineering
ENGR174. Practices in Civil Engineering
ENGR201. Economics of Technical Enterprise
HIST184. Science and Religion
MATH188. Social Choice and Decision Making
PHIL125. Ethical Issues in Science and Engineering
PHYS080. Energy and the Environment
RLST184. Science and Religion
SOSC180. Tropical Forests: Policy and Practice
STS 001. Introduction to Science, Technology and Society
STS 114. Social and Political Issues in Clinic
STS 124. U.S. Science and Technology Policy
STS 185. Science and Engineering from an “Other” Perspective
STS 187. HIV/AIDS: Science, Society and Service
 
See the corresponding departmental course listing for a description of these courses.