College houses to offer seminars

Students in two of the University's six college houses will have the opportunity to take a seminar in their own residence halls next fall as part of a pilot program, which if successful, might extend to the four other houses. Last Wednesday, about fifteen students from Ware College House attended a meeting to design a for-credit seminar to be held in Ware in the fall. Situated in the apartment of Ware House Master and Engineering Professor Jan van der Spiegel, the informal meeting allowed the students to choose one of three potential subjects for the seminar. The students chose a seminar entitled "Health and Society," to be taught by History and Sociology of Science graduate student Susan Miller. The two other course topics were on the poetry of Penn alumnus William Carlos Williams and the literature of medicine. English graduate student Jane Penner would have lead the course on Williams -- "Williams and Others" -- while Comparative Literature and African Studies graduate student Giuliana Lund would have taught the class on the literature of medicine, "Medicine at the Crossroads: Science, Fiction and Society." During a meeting with the Residential Faculty Council last semester, College Dean Robert Rescorla proposed having in-house seminars in two college residences. At that time, Rescorla said the courses will be open to ten to fifteen residents of the chosen residences. And he emphasized that the students should take active roles in the logistics of the seminar, such as choosing the topic, requirements, location and time of the course. After residents in the college houses have created their seminar, each residence's advisory council will present blueprints for the course to the College for approval. The College, in conjunction with the Residential Faculty Council, will then select two of the college house proposals for participation in the pilot program. While other college houses are vying for the two spots in the pilot program, Spiegel said Ware "will have a very strong proposal." "What we have is a good example of how Ware College House is operating," he said. "It's a college by the students and for the students." Ware, the only college house in the Quadrangle, started in 1981 under the theme of "health and society." Though many residents are nursing and pre-med students, students from the Wharton and Engineering schools also live in Ware. As in other college houses, Ware sponsors residence events to promote a community atmosphere, including guest speakers, ski trips, Sunday brunches and community service activities. Viewing the seminar as another way to promote Ware's family-like environment, Spiegel and Ware Faculty Fellow and English Professor Rita Barnard organized last Wednesday's meeting after receiving a favorable response from initial discussions with Ware residents. Besides supporting the seminar concept, the residents specified that the courses should relate to Ware's theme of health and society. Barnard and Spiegel originally suggested that the seminar focus on the poetry of William Carlos Williams, a poet, writer and physician who lived in the Quadrangle during the early 20th century while attending the University. But since students found the topic too narrow, the seminars dealing with the history and literature of medicine were proposed. After reviewing the evaluation forms from the meeting, Barnard said students favored Miller's seminar focusing on the history of medicine. College sophomore and The Daily Pennsylvanian staff member Hilary Schaefer supported this course, saying,"I am very interested in the history of health care and the perception of disease and how it's changed. "Also, I would like to have a teacher or someone with a relaxed style of teaching, someone that would be able to sit in a bean bag chair and discuss the issues in health care," she added.