10-minute Presentation by the DUS to the
Campus Advisors' Annual Meeting
1) Who we are
We are a relatively new department that houses a large number of programs that have been around for a long time.
Link(s):
2) Requesting consideration of majors or joint-majors or minors
Often, when students first come to this school they are unaware of the rich variety of fields of study that exist on this campus. Encourage
them to minor in a non-STEM field like ours to broaden their
intellectual horizons and to encourage engagement with civil society,
without which a democratic society cannot survive. Note: some
students come with intellectually unrealistic expectations of majoring in a STEM
field; its better they come to departments like ours instead of
dropping out of college altogether (because of a mistaken sense of not
being college-worthy due to poor pre-college advisement by high school
counselors and/or parents).
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Note: we are willing to be
flexible in our requirements (within reason, of course). Therefore,
please do not hesistate to send prospective students to us for
consultation. New DUS: Beginning July 1st, 2014: Professor Barbara Wejnert.
3) What we do
Present select materials on a sample of key issues that affect human rights, civil rights, social justice, democracy, etc. Note: When
societies do not work, from the perspective of democracy, then there is
chaos and everything becomes irrelevant (including our educational
careers, jobs, etc.) Ultimately, whether one likes it or not, the
reality is that STEM fields are primarily about building a better mouse
trap; whereas what we do is about what it means to be truly human--in a
non-biological sense.
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4) Thank you
Thank you for allowing us to do this presentation; and thank you for the work you do!