“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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Monsters of the Abyss: Oceanography and Sea Tales
Brown Catalog Link We will read from the logbooks of Cook, Darwin, Wallace, and Nansen. Their discoveries and expeditions inspired and were inspired by fiction that we will also read, including Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The daring successes and cannibalistic dooms of the Essex, Beagle, Terror, Challenger, and Fram inspired 19th century writers to imagine what lay far across and deep beneath the oceans. These retellings--fictional, narrative, and scientific--helped formulate and fund further research. Who risks their life for a bird, a map, a widow, or an eclipse? How would these scientists and their ideas do today? Enrollment limited to 20 first year students. First Year Seminar.
You can access the
syllabus,
class calendar, notes, and reading
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Week
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Reading
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1
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9/5:
Syllabus, Scientists and Explorers as Beautiful Souls
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Press, Beautiful Souls
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2
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9/10: Solitude, Individuality, Journals, Observing Nature, and Novels
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9/12: Aronnax, Land, and Conseil; Hydrostasy, Taxonomy
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Franzen, 'Farther Away: “Robinson Crusoe,” David Foster Wallace, and the island of solitude.'
Pt. 1, Chp. I-VII, Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
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3
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9/17: Captain Nemo Archimedes Principle
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9/19: Dead White Guys Zoophytes
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Pt. 1, Chp. VIII-XXIV, Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Chp. 9, Life at Vassar, Mitchell, Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals
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4
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9/24: Lee Pedersen, Librarian
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9/26: Student-Led (Corbett, Blood)
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Pt. 2, Chp. I-XIV, Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Chp. VI, Nansen, Farthest North, Vol 1
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5
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10/1: Tides, Spring & Neap Ice & Poles Sea Ice & Climate
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10/3: Student-Led (Boulanger, Gross) Questions on Paper 1. First Drafts Due on Canvas by midnight Friday.
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Pt. 2, Chp. XV-XXIII, Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Witbaard et al., 2003, Moore, 1970
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6
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10/8: Baylor at Patullo Conference--No class, work on Paper 1!
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10/10: Paper 1 Due (by midnight)
Copepods & Quahogs Climate
Science Writing
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Witbaard et al., 2003, Moore, 1970
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7
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10/15: Columbus as Explorer/Scientist, Corals, Subsidence, & Keeling
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10/17: Student-Led (Lord, Ramos)
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Chp. 1-15, Melville, Moby Dick
Chp. on Keeling Island, etc. Chp. XXII of Darwin, Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, Vol. III, Journal and Remarks, 1832-1836 now known as Chp. XX of The Voyage of the Beagle
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8
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10/22: Ray Huling (Guest; Quahogs, Sustainability)
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10/24: Student-Led (Goosby, Citra)
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Chp. 16-27, Melville, Moby Dick
Chp. 5, Darwin, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
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9
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10/29: Madrepores, Subsidence, Darwin Journal vs. Manuscript
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10/31: Student-Led (Taugner, Flax) Suggested Halloween costumes: pirate, whale, coral, Nansen, ...
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Chp. 28-40, Melville, Moby Dick
Chp. XXVIII, FitzRoy, Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, Vol. II Chp. 1, Lyell, The Student's Lyell: A Manual of Elementary Geology
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10 11/3: Field Trip
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11/5: Science & Religion. The Geologist view of Deluge & Evolution.
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11/7: Student-Led (Chen, McKenna)
Questions on Paper 2. First Drafts Due on Canvas by midnight Friday.
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Chp. 41-54, Melville, Moby Dick
Goram: pg. 370-382, Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-utan and the Bird of Paradise, A Narrative of Travel, with Studies of Man and Nature
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11
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11/12: Wallace, Darwin & FitzRoy
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11/14: Good Hope, Waves, and Squalls
Paper 2 Due (by midnight)
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12
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11/19: Exploration & Discovery
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11/21: Student-Led (Blunt, Kondo)
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Chp. 55-73, Melville, Moby Dick
Chps. VII-X, Cook, The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook Round the World, Vol. 1.2
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13
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11/26: Student-Led (Newton, Peterkin)
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11/28: Thanksgiving Break
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Chp. 74-110, Melville, Moby Dick
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14
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12/3: What have you learned?
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12/5: Student-Led (Nguyen, Sun)
Questions on Paper 3. First Drafts Due on Canvas by midnight Friday.
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Chp. 111-Epilogue, Melville, Moby Dick
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15
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12/10: Reading Period
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Reading Period
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12/12: Reading Period
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Reading Period, Sheldon & Kerr, 1972, and and an alternate method!
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16
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12/17: Exams
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12/18: 5PM Paper 3 Due (End of Scheduled Exam Period)
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12/19: EXAMS
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12/21: Last Day of EXAMS
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