Humanities emphasizes that we explore the human experience reflectively, examine our lives and society critically, free ourselves from insular forms of thinking, and work to apply what we learn to build a more just and more sustainable world.
Humanities at Oswego courses have significant benefits for students. We intend team-taught, interdisciplinary courses to sharpen critical thinking skills by bringing together complementary subjects and skills. Faculty combine their talents to give students access to exclusive topics and distinctive areas of knowledge. Shared assignments are offered across different departments and courses and allow students to see what they are learning from a different perspective. Humanities research projects involve students in cutting edge research with faculty. Humanities at Oswego allows students to find a greater unity in their learning.
Team Taught Course
Communicating Science in Media BRC 450 810/PHY 467 810
Professors: Alok Kumar (Physics), Serenity Sutherland (Communication Studies)
Scientists communicate with each other through technical presentations and peer-reviewed journal articles, both outlets that miss the larger public. To bolster public trust in science, journalists, scientists and writers must communicate scientific research through media that is engaging and interesting. This can create inconsistent reporting that leads to a wide variety of issues that polarize society — global climate change, evolution, stem cell research, etc. This course covers the nature of science, its interactions with media, and the various types and processes of media. It also defines current norms in social media and how scientists, journalists and every-day citizens use these tools to communicate scientific truths. A hands-on training on various media is provided.
Shared Assignment
Mapping Oswego!
Professors: Eve Clark (Sociology), Rachel Lee (Atmospheric and Geological Sciences), Damian Schofield (Computer Science), Katherine Spector (OLS/Math), Kevin White (Anthropology), Jae Woong Lee (Computer Science)
This project connects classes in humanities, social science, and physical sciences to create a digital map of the SUNY Oswego campus allowing students and visitors to find historical sites, student services, and other important spots on campus through their smart phones, much like playing Pokemon Go.
Through the shared course assignment, students gather data (historical events, dining events, sporting and campus location) they deem important for the campus in a multi-disciplinary approach. Students in Humanities courses provide the content and work with students in Sociology, Native American Studies, Statistics, Hypermedia and Computer Science to map the cites using the HP Reveal and Google Maps software to gain important skills for their future careers. Social Sciences students input data deemed relevant for students and visitors to help facilitate group interactions, promote diversity, and social solidarity. Students in the Digital Arts, English and Communications will shape the content and appearance to provide concise summaries and aesthetic material for the application.
Research Project
SUNY Oswego Research Project on Decoloniality: Narratives of Knowledge in, and Beyond, Academia
Professors: Murat Yasar (History), Ulises Mejias (Institute for Global Engagement), Gonzalo Aguiar Malosetti (Department of Modern Languages and Literature)
This research group aims to examine decoloniality within a spatially and temporally broad framework based on the participants' research specializations including the Middle East, Latin America, and Communication studies. Our group's initial objective is to expand upon our existing research and ideas on decoloniality and write a conference paper, as well as publish in academic journals. We also intend to create a syllabus for an upper-level course on decoloniality and team-teach it at SUNY Oswego.
Contact
Humanities at Oswego
Robert Card
humanities@oswego.edu