One of the most important challenges facing the world in the twenty-first century is to identify and develop sustainable sources of energy in order to maintain a reasonable standard of living while also minimizing our impact on the environment. This seminar will discuss the science of energy production and usage for a variety of energy sources and energy conservation strategies, and also examine the environmental advantages and drawbacks of each source or strategy. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the nuclear disaster in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 illustrate just some of the dangers underlying our current energy production portfolio. The science regarding the challenge of global climate change will also be discussed. While the seminar is discussion based and writing intensive, students will be introduced to the basic physical principles and skills necessary to understand the issues involved in energy systems and sustainability, including physical units conversion and problem solving techniques. The course will also include course blog postings and discussion of topics of current interest regarding energy and environmental issues found in the popular press.
Your Professor
Kevin Riggs holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Minnesota and specializes in research on magnetic materials useful for magnetic recording and information storage. He also holds an M.S. in Physics/Musical-acoustics from Case Western Reserve University and has an active research program using laser-based holographic techniques to image the vibration patterns of musical instruments. He teaches many advanced courses for physics majors, but especially enjoys interacting with students from a wide range of backgrounds in his general education course on musical acoustics titled "The Science of Music" and his new first-year seminar titled "Energy and the Environment." In his spare time, Dr. Riggs enjoys playing guitar in a Stetson faculty jazz quartet, the "Thin Film Magnetism."
Is writing good for your health? Many writers describe their creative process as a sort of spiritual practice from which they gain insight. And many of us have experienced the way we can write our way to answers in our lives and discover our inner wisdom. Numerous fictional works explore illness- are writers drawing from their related experiences and instinctively moving themselves toward wellness when they write? Is it that same impulse that drives others to keep journals and diaries or turn their troubles into poems? Scientific studies on the impact of writing on health- both emotional and physical- show remarkable results, supporting what those who love to read and write have known all along: the written word is powerful medicine. Where do writing, spirituality, and wellness meet? This course explores that intersection through a variety of texts, discussion, and written responses. In addition, students will learn the sort of writing that has been found to be healing and have the opportunity to experience its potential through journaling and creative writing. This course includes a service-learning component, in which students will perform some tasks off-campus in our local community.
Your Professor
Gail Radley, a lecturer in the English Department, received her B.A. in Independent Studies with an emphasis in creative writing from Mary Baldwin College and her M.A. in English from Stetson. Besides journaling and dabbling in poetry, she is the author of 21 books for children and young adults, as well as various articles and short stories for adults. One of these, "Writing With the Ink of Light on the Tablet of the Spirit," a paper Radley presented at the annual Writing and Wellness Conference, was published in Writing and Wellness Connections (Evans: Idyll Arbor, 2010).