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Each first-year student will enroll in a BC 110 First-Year Seminar
course. This is a required part of the Baker Core general education
program: https://www.bakeru.edu/area-of-study/baker-core/.
These First-Year Seminars are designed to help every Baker student make the transition to college-level writing and critical inquiry. You will be asked to
consider compelling and enduring questions that are central to a
21st-century liberal arts education. The course will focus on critical
analysis of big ideas and enduring questions, and also emphasize the
development of academic writing, oral communication, and information
literacy skills. Faculty from all disciplines teach compelling and
provocative topics about which we are passionate in order to help you
develop these skills and engage you in active learning.

Please choose below which BC 110 topics are most appealing to you.

BC110A: “John Coltrane: Jazz Trailblazer to Global Influencer” § Tasha Riggins § MWF 9:30-10:20

Long before social media influencers, John Coltrane was influencing the masses by challenging the musical landscape of his genre, collaborating with unexpected musicians, and creating a variety of message-driven meanings to his instrumental masterpieces. In this class students will learn about what the musical and cultural landscape looked like before, during, and after Coltrane put his stamp on it. This class requires no previous jazz knowledge, just a love of music and curiosity.

BC110B: “Bizarre Burglaries: The Art of the Heist” § Joanne Janssen § MWF 9:30-10:20

As the success of Oceans Eleven suggests, many of us are captivated by heists. But why? I doubt we condone theft, but heists seem to capture something different: that rare combination of unusual daring, tremendous skill, and careful execution. In this class we will look beyond traditional bank heists to more unusual robberies of orchids, feathers, paintings, maps, cheese, and more! We will examine what is at stake in these heists: should we see them as relatively innocent capers or full-blown crimes? These heists also will give us glimpses into subcultures that revolve around rare objects and will prompt us to explore what we value, and why.

BC110C: “Music and Humanity” § Robin Liston § MWF 9:30-10:20

Music is a universal human experience. Come explore how humans perceive music and use it to find meaning in life. We’ll study a variety of topics, including music and the brain, music in society, and music's ability to bring people together. Through writings about music and scientific research, we will investigate how humanity is enriched by this complex and powerful art form.

BC110D: “Identity & Art: Theatre, Film, Entertainment Media” § Trevor Belt § MWF 9:30-10:20

Human beings have always desired to see themselves in the stories of their time. In this class, we’ll examine how the media we consume consciously and subconsciously both directs our behavioral choices and impacts how we see ourselves. We will study plays, films, music (and yes, even TikTok), to analyze their effects on our individual and cultural identities.

BC110E: “Moral Panic! A Survey of Our Favorite Fears” § Ryan Gibb § MWF 9:30-10:20

What do our friends and neighbors do that draws our attention and ire? What are the ‘kids’ doing these days? Are they normal, or is everything we know and love just doomed? In this course, we will survey a history of moral panics. We will discuss the sources of these folk beliefs as well as the public policies which have resulted from them. What stereotypes do we share that are not reflective of reality? Can learning facts alter our core understanding about an issue, group of people, or behavior?

BC110F: “Violence in American Literature, TV & Film” § Tamara Slankard § MWF 9:30-10:20

In this course we will explore the construction of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American identity against the backdrop of physical, psychological, racial, sexual, and even—perhaps—justifiable violence. We will discuss how artistic representations of violence do far more than simply shock and titillate: they help us to better understand the connections between identity, culture, history and art. Note: As the title suggests, a significant portion of the course content entails visual or narrative depictions of graphic violence and controversial subject matter.

BC110G: “Rap and Religion” § Nick Pumphrey § MWF 9:30-10:20

In the last ten years, Rap and Hip-Hop have become the most popular music genre in the United States. However, the music represents so much more than art. This course will examine “mainstream” rap and the messages of gender, race, and religion in the lyrics. The course will follow hip-hop from its origins in the 70s to today’s highly political yet highly popular music. As with the common curriculum of BC110, students will be writing frequently on various lyricists, songs, and movements of rap. Many topics will include Islam and Rap, 2Pac, and Women Rappers.

BC110H: “The Good Place: Becoming a Better Person through the Magic of Television” §

Cynthia Appl § MWF 9:30-10:20

The popular and critically acclaimed NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016-2020 starring Kristin Bell) is the only show that has a moral philosopher as a main character, and a philosophy professor consultant on staff. A hit show about moral philosophy (becoming a better person and finding meaning in life)? Holy forking shirtballs, yes! (There’s no swearing allowed in the Good Place.) In this class, we will apply the life lessons of Good Place to our own lives.

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BC110I: “Music, Musicians and Meaning” § Trilla Lyerla § TR 9:30-10:45

What tunes are on your personal playlist? Who is your favorite artist or group? What appeals to you most about the music? Are the lyrics deep or just for fun? What meaning do you find in the music to which you listen? These are just a few of the questions that we will consider in our survey of the many facets of American popular music, from its roots to contemporary rap, alternative, country, etc. You will have assigned readings and listening examples, and the opportunity to discuss, research, write and present on a wide variety of topics associated with the music, the musicians, and the meaning of America’s popular music from the last 70 years.

BC110J: “Modern Tyrants” § Ryan Gibb § TR 9:30-10:45

We will examine the rise and rule of modern dictators. What do we mean by “dictator”? What are the essentials to dictators’ accession to power, and how do they keep power once they have it? What do attacks on legislators, judges, the media, political opponents, and elections look like in the 21st century? How do dictators attract supporters, and how do they define their necessary scapegoats? Prepare to learn how to become a dictator (or at least how to recognize them).

BC110K: “Life, Love, and the Civil War in Southern Appalachia” § Robin Liston § TR 9:30-10:45

Novels give us a glimpse of other people's lives. By reading Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain, we will see the world through the eyes of Ada, Inman, and Ruby and discover how historical fiction enriches our present by telling stories from the past.

BC110L: “Travel: Creativity, Critical Thinking and Morality” § Robyn Long § TR 9:30-10:45

We will consider travel, particularly international travel, from several points of view. While travel increases our ability to think critically, our creativity, and our open-mindedness, it can also harm the people and places that we visit, contribute to climate change, and challenge our moral behavior. Further, travel is the privilege of the few, creating disparity between the “travelers” and the “travel-nots.” We will engage with psychological and philosophical research as well as travel literature to investigate the “best practices” of travel, travel equity, and, to a lesser extent, globalization.

BC110M: “Things ’n Stuff” § Tamara Slankard § TR 9:30-10:45

At least a hundred years ago, an unidentified armchair psychologist (not Sigmund Freud) quipped that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” With apologies to the forgotten speaker, we will investigate a plethora of literary and popular culture objects that do appear to possess more than mere face value: artificial limbs, fire sale dolls, UFOs, laundered counterfeit money, human test subjects, MREs, flask-hiding Bibles, family heirlooms, Infinity Stones, biomechanical robots…and maybe even Ken. Among the texts we will analyze and discuss are short fiction by Tim O’Brien, Raymond Carver, Alice Walker, Sandra Cisneros and Flannery O’Connor, films such as NOPE, the Avengers saga and Barbie, and television shows like Good Girls, Westworld, and Stranger Things. You will also have an opportunity to explore the meaning and significance of “things” in your own life, including a grade school throwback Show-n-Tell.

BC110N: “I Wanna Rock: The History of Rock ’n Roll” § Ashley Garcia § TR 9:30-10:45

We will look at the economic, cultural, and political forces that shaped rock 'n' roll along with the historical trends, changes, lyrical and instrumental innovations within the genre dating from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Although rock 'n' emerged as a legitimate genre in the 1960s, our class will explore its historical roots in folk and gospel dating back to the 1800s.