Interdisciplinary
Studies in Letters and Science
A
Three-Semester Program of Study in General Education
ISLS is an
adventure in the world of ideas.
It is a program for college students to explore the interrelationship of
various fields of learning, a program of reading, writing, discussion, and
independent inquiry leading to knowledge.
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ISLS is for
the two-year college student who wants a solid foundation in education for the
Associates of Arts (A.A.) degree.
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ISLS is for
the transfer student who desires a broad base in several disciplines before
continuing studies in an area of academic specialization.
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ISLS is for
the liberal arts or humanities major who desires an introduction in depth to
the roots of our culture.
Who will be teaching in ISLS in Spring 2005-Autumn 2005
-Spring 2006?
|
Faculty |
Office |
Telephone |
Email |
|
Don Skiles (Coordinator) |
734 |
723-6811 |
|
|
Julie Segedy |
744 |
723-6807 |
|
|
Susan
Sperling |
765 |
723-7063 |
|
|
Joe Berland (Spring 2005) |
2022 |
723-7452 |
|
|
Scott Hildreth (Autumn 2005- Spring 2006) |
2013 |
723-7468 |
|
|
ISLS Counselor |
|
|
|
|
Naoma Mize |
154 |
723-6726 |
|
|
Dean of the Language Arts Division |
|
|
|
|
Tom DeWit (Dean) |
702/704 |
723-6805 |
|
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Language Arts Division Office |
|
723-6804 |
|
http://www.chabotcollege.edu/isls
Chabot College
25555 Hesperian Boulevard – Hayward, CA 94545
The organizing principle of
Interdisciplinary Studies in Letters & Science is at once daring and
sensible: The ISLS student is responsible for her or his own education. This
responsibility includes a commitment to learning, an involvement in ideas, and
a desire for personal growth. The program extends to each student the
opportunity to become educated through studying relevant materials, considering
the perspectives of a diverse community of students, and experiencing tutorial
instruction in an intellectual climate where good books, exciting ideas and
critical inquiry are valued.
ISLS is an approach to
undergraduate education as old as Socrates and as new as computer technology.
The three-semester curriculum covers many of the general education requirements
for graduation from Chabot College and for transfer to a four-year college or
university. Students receive 12 to 13 units of credit per semester, totalling
36-40 units over the entire program. Completion of this program fulfills many
lower division general education requirements in five disciplines: humanities,
English, social sciences, physical sciences, and biological sciences. The
course of study emphasizes the interrelation of ideas in all five subject areas
in such a way that each semester forms an integral unit of study, and three
semesters constitute a sequential development of ideas, skills and
understanding. The ISLS classes, with an enrollment of 120 students, make up a
program lasting the entire three semesters. Students should commit
themselves to the full program.
The ISLS instructors consider
themselves co-learners as well as tutors. Instruction is carried on in four
ways: (1) four one-and-one-half hour sessions, led by one or more of the
tutors, make up six hours a week of group lecture-discussion in which all
students and tutors participate; (2) six additional hours each week in small
group discussions where each of the tutors continues the examination of the
ideas introduced in large group; (3) private tutorials in which a student and
tutor meet individually; and, (4) weekly colloquia (ISLS 9) with guest speakers
to explore topical concepts and ideas in a different way. After the first
semester, each student has a different tutor every half-semester and a random
mix of other students for small group discussion. Attendance at both the
large-group lecture and small-group discussion sessions is required, as is
attendance at at least half of the colloquium sessions (ISLS 9).
The heart of the instructional
method is careful analysis of primary source material in each subject area.
Students read the works of authors such as Shakespeare, Darwin, and Marx rather
than books about them. Students discover they can master challenging works
through the methods of dialogue, close examination of the text, and structural
analysis. Students are required to write a full-length analytical paper on each
text. The students' writing should convey independent discoveries derived from
an intimate association with the work, rather than responses to what others
have said or written about it. We expect essays to be original work, based on
primary sources.
The success of Interdisciplinary
Studies in Letters and Science lies in three essential elements:
Discussion is the heart of the
ISLS day. Study is undertaken in modules rather than in a sequence of
concurrent courses. Students and instructors meet at 9:00 AM on Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings for 1½ hours in a large lecture hall,
where one instructor directs the study of a work in his or her field for a two
or three week period. Class often begins with students sharing their responses
to the assigned reading and continues with analysis of the text. After a short
break, students and instructors reassemble at 10:30 in small discussion groups
where a more intensive study of the work is pursued. The formal part of an ISLS
day usually concludes at noon.
The typical instructional day
varies to suit the material under study. For example, discussion of writing
assignments or student papers may occur in the small group. Tutors may present
art slides or an analysis of poetry; a guest speaker may be invited. Scheduled
trips to attend theater and special exhibits, and to visit museums or
planetariums may also be scheduled.
ISLS students receive credit for
laboratory experience. Laboratory sessions will be available at varying times
to accommodate student schedules. Students must plan their schedules to include
one required lab class as part of the ISLS program. The choice of lab
time is made in class within ISLS and not at the registration desk.
Students
need to remember that studying any one work using this modular plan is the
equivalent of not one but four courses. This requires
the energy and time demanded by four courses: at least three hours of study for
each hour in class and 18 hours overall each week. Therefore, no more than one
other course outside ISLS should be taken during the semester.
The Colloquium (ISLS 9) is
scheduled as one two-hour session each Tuesday from 1:00 to 2:50 p.m.
Colloquium is a 1-unit requirement that enriches the ISLS experience. Students,
tutors and at times guest speakers pursue interests such as music,
architecture, art, mathematics or poetry and discuss current events, using the
methods of analysis developed in the program. Topics reflect developing student
interests and abilities.
ISLS is designed for the
following individuals:
There is no typical student in
the ISLS program, nor is there a test to identify such a student. The
potentially successful student enjoys reading, whether it be material assigned
in class or of personal interest, and finds ideas exciting but may be
dissatisfied with regular classroom programs. He or she asks probing questions
and experiences a sense of wonder about the universe and the creations of the
human mind. Such a student values learning with a friendly group of students
and teachers in an informal environment. The student may or may not have chosen
a major but plans to complete most of the general education requirements in
this program before specializing.
Writing is integral to all
college work. The process that begins in the large discussion group and
continues intensively in the small discussion group is completed when the
student writes an analytical paper on a particular aspect of the work. These papers,
along with other written and oral assignments, become a tangible record of
progress in the student's ability to read, think and write effectively.
Although intuitive responses to
the artist's creation are valuable, the student is encouraged to discover the
underlying order which binds the work together. An ISLS paper presents evidence
of the student's insights, which also convey the student's intellectual
understanding of the work.
Each semester, students write at
least five analytical papers. Tutors work with discussion groups on preparation
and revision. Students share papers in small groups, after which the tutor
reads each paper and makes comments, raises questions and evaluates the
organization and presentation of ideas. Papers are not given letter grades.
Students are invited to confer with their tutors about papers, which may
undergo several revisions.
Thirty-seven semester units in
general education are accumulated upon completion of ISLS 1A, 1B and 1C. One
unit per semester, a total of three units, is earned by enrollment in ISLS 9,
the colloquium. ISLS students who want to obtain an A.A. degree must take a few
additional courses. Students should consult the College Catalog, the counseling
fliers and the ISLS counselor to plan the additional courses required for
graduation.
Works chosen from five academic
areas are studied in depth each semester by all students. The tutor from each
discipline is responsible for coordinating and enriching instruction from the
text; secondary sources or background material are seldom required. Works studied
are selected from primary documents of the world's political, social,
scientific and cultural heritage. Although changes occur from one program to
the next, students will analyze works such as those on the following list.
Precise lists will be given to the students each semester.
|
Spring 2005 Plato, The
Apology Homer, The
Odyssey Euclid, Geometry Sophocles, Antigone
& Oedipus Aristophanes,
Lysistrata Popul Voh "Genesis,"
The Bible, King James Version Plato, The
Republic Aldo Leopold, A
Sand County Almanac Gilgamesh |
Autumn 2006 Chaucer, The
Canterbury Tales Galileo, The
Starry Messenger Niccolo
Machiavelli, The Prince William
Shakespeare, Hamlet Hamilton,
Madison, Federalist Papers Charles Darwin, On
the Origin of Species Karl Marx, Economic
and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 Shostak, Nisa Readings from Night
and Horses, and the Desert (Islamic Art and Architecture) |
Spring 2006 Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk Henry David
Thoreau, Walden Sigmund Freud, Civilization
and Its Discontents Stephen Joy
Gould, The Mismeasure of Man Camus, The
Plague Akira Kurasawa, Rashomon Basho, The
Narrow Road to the Deep North Frank Lloyd
Wright, In the Cause of Architecture Richard Feynman, Six Easy Pieces |
To apply for an ISLS interview,
or for more information, fill out our online registration
interest form, or contact an ISLS tutor
or counselor on-campus. Enrollment is limited to 120 students.