In this class, students will use 3D printing as a way to explore a variety of creative communities and to produce creative work that moves out of the studio and into the public sphere. Through hands-on making, reading, writing, and discussion, students will critically examine themes of authorship, ownership and copyright, and the relationship between collaboration and individualism as it pertains to the Maker movement, DIY culture, and various online and local 3D printing communities.
This experimental course is approved for critical thinking credit in cluster one or VPA credit in cluster two.
UNST 300E: The Physics of Science Fiction
Professor Dr. Harold M. Butner Fall 2019 MW 12:20-13:35 MADISON 1053
What impact does changing the sky have on a society? What would happen to your world if energy was hard to produce, or if it was inexhaustible? What would life be like if space travel was inexpensive? These changes often are the underlying backdrop for stories in science fiction. In this class, we will look for key “background” changes in the world of selected stories, and identify what constraints these physical changes placed on the story.
Each section of the course will draw on multiple examples of how a specific topic in science was explored by various authors, such gravity, or the interaction of man and machine, or genetic engineering, or even changing the sky, in the context of particular stories. To facilitate covering a range of examples, readings will focus on short stories or excerpts from longer novels, rather than reading every examplein full. While our focus will be on science fiction, stories from movies, anime, and manga will also be included. Along the way, we will research what current science says, and what would have to change to produce the new world view for that story. Ideally, you should have had an introduction to the scientific method via an earlier Cluster 3 course, rather a specific Cluster 3 course topic such as Physics. This course will satisfy the Cluster 1 critical thinking GenEd requirement.
You will have an opportunity to select some dramatic change in an area of science that interests you. After researching the science during the semester, at the end of the course, you will present to the class how you think your life would be impacted by the proposed change compared to the way things are now.
LTLE 375: 3D Printing Real-World Solutions
Professors Dr Joi Merrit & Jamie Calgano-Roach
Fall 2019 Tuesday 2:30 – 5:00 , Carrier 101
How can we make our oceans healthier? How can we use new technologies to solve real world problems? Could 3D printing be the answer? 3D printing has been used to develop products and processes. Such products range from objects for sale, fun, or decoration. You may have seen larger projects where 3D printing has been used to print houses. To learn how we can do this, we will explore how 3D printing can be used to develop solutions to reduce the amount of plastics in our oceans, as well as how to educate and engage the public about these solutions. You will then apply these skills to develop 3D printed solutions for other real-world problems. Students do not need to have experience with 3D printing or design for this course. The class size is limited to 24 students due to capacity of the 3SPACE 3D printing classroom. 3D Printing Real-World Solutions is available to all JMU students, and will satisfy the Cluster 1, Critical Thinking requirement.
UNST 300E: Global Migration and Resettlement in Harrisonburg
Professor: Dr. Mary Gayne
Fall 2019 TTH 11 AM – 12:15 PM, Wilson 1001
Students in this course will explore the recent global shifts in immigration, refugee resettlement, and transnational migration from 1965-present through accumulation, analysis, and interpretation of publicly-available sources that describe how these larger social processes are experienced and articulated in Harrisonburg, Virginia and the surrounding region. Students will learn valuable skills and competencies in Digital Humanities by presenting their discoveries and findings on an already-begun WordPress website platform called, “The World is Harrisonburg: A Global History of Immigration, Refugee Resettlement, and Transnational Migration, 1970-2020”. Additionally, students participate in a variety of community events, such as the Harrisonburg International Festival. This pilot is a variation of HIST 150 Critical Issues in Recent Global History.
