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UC DAVIS: Office of the Provost
August 3, 2004
MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE
Re: Call for FRS Seminars
I am reissuing an invitation for faculty participation in the Freshmen
Seminar Program for academic year 2004-2005. For the 2004-2005 academic
year, 1-unit seminars may be offered for 10 hours during the first 8-10
weeks of the academic quarter and 2-unit courses for a total of 20 hours
during the first 8-10 weeks of the quarter. Both 1 and 2-unit courses
are letter-graded. Enrollment is limited to twenty students per class.
From the program's inception, faculty members have offered Freshman Seminars
as an add-on to their normal departmental teaching assignments. As a means
of acknowledging the instructor's contribution to our undergraduate
educational mission, I am pleased to offer a modest stipend in the amounts
of $2,000 for 2-unit seminars and $1,500 for 1-unit seminars. These funds
may be transferred to the faculty member's departmental account. Additionally,
instructors are eligible to apply for up to $500 in Minigrant support to defray
expenses that may be associated with conducting the class.
Additional information on Freshman Seminars related to the Campus Community
Book Project is below.
Although I recognize that faculty have already established their teaching
responsibilities for the upcoming year, I hope that you will seriously consider
this opportunity to work with our first-year students. If you are interested
in offering an FRS Seminar, please complete the online application on the TRC
web site (http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/freshSem/call.html) and return it to
Janet Chambers (jachambers@ucdavis.edu) at the Teaching Resources Center.
All proposals are reviewed by a faculty committee. Please note the following
deadlines:
September 3, 2004 last date for fall 2004 seminars
October 8, 2004 last date for winter 2005 seminars
January 14, 2005 last date for spring 2005 seminars
If you have any questions about the program, please contact the Teaching Resources
Center at 2-6050/trc@ucdavis.edu.
Patricia A. Turner
Vice Provost-Undergraduate Studies
04-056
Campus Community Book Project Freshman Seminar Call
Faculty are encouraged to submit Freshman Seminar Proposals related to the Campus
Community Book Project focused on Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.
For more information about this exciting initiative, see http://occr.ucdavis.edu/bookproject.html.
Anna Deavere Smith, an author, an actor, educator, and playwright, interviewed
nearly 200 individuals about the uprising in Los Angeles in 1992 following the
Rodney King verdict and composed a play of the multiple voices and perspectives.
Her work portrays the varied facets of this complex societal issue and takes a
piercing look at the consequences of police brutality, community segregation, and
economic disparity. A talented actor, currently best known for her role as national
security advisor on West Wing, Deavere Smith wrote the book as a script which she
enacts in a performance piece based on several characters portrayed in the book.
Among the many recommendations from the campus community, this book was chosen
because it offers us an opportunity to engage in a rich dialogue on the causes and
effects on a community of unchecked prejudice and injustice. As our campus and
surrounding community struggle to respond to hate crimes and other bias-related
incidents, this book offers insight into the importance of weaving together a
stronger, more vital connection among our campus and community residents. As the
author writes in her introduction to the book:
I see the work as a call. I played Twilight in Los Angeles as a call to the
community. I performed it at a time when the community had not yet resolved the
problems. I wanted to be part of their examination of the problems. I believe
that the solutions to these problems will call for the participation of large
and eclectic groups of people. I also believe that we are at a stage at which
we must first break the silence about race and encourage many more people to
participate in the dialogue.
We believe that this book will provide a guide for constructive and respectful
dialogue within our community. In addition, the content has broad appeal and
application to a variety of contexts and disciplines, such as theater arts,
journalism, ethnic studies, sociology, economics, community development, law,
and many others. We anticipate using this book to examine many of the divergent
perspectives within our community to explore viable solutions to the continuing
problems of racism and other forms of bias.
Guidelines for Freshman Seminars and a sample course proposal are available at
the Freshman Seminar Web Site http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/frosh.html. For more
information please contact Janet Chambers at 752-6050 or jachambers@ucdavis.edu
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