Required for all undergraduate degrees. Reinforces basic skills in communication necessary for college work. Instruction and practice in fundamentals of critical writing, reading, and thinking. Lectures combined with seminars on vital current social, political, psychological, and philosophical issues. Students choose their seminars. Frequent papers; individual conferences.

MET EN 104 Section Descriptions for Fall 2013:

Section A1-- Adair: The American Family. As humankind's primary social unit, the family works to influence individual and collective identities more than any other group. Families challenge, support, educate, and restrict us by helping to shape our political views and cultural values. They suggest patterns of behavior we seek to emulate or to avoid and reflect structural shifts in the larger community. In this course, we will enter the ongoing debate of theorists, social philosophers, artists, politicians, and others about the nature of changes in the family unit. Our discussion will treat several controversial questions: What or who constitutes a "family"? Is the American family merely evolving, or is it in a state of crisis? Is a "return to family values" possible, or even preferable? By examining various incarnations of the American family, including those of colonial settlements, the "nuclear family," alternative households, and cultural communities, we will investigate the development of what one philosopher called society's "moral cell." Readings will include historical, political, literary, and sociology texts, as well as some advertisements and film.

Section A2 -- Barents: Boston Zeal, Insanity, and Lawlessness. Boston has captivated the imagination of locals and outsiders alike for centuries, but not only as The Hub or The Athens of America but also as Suck City and the town with "dirty water." In this seminar, we will look at Boston as subject and setting of a number of very different short works in order to understand the social, political, historical, and artistic forces that have shaped this American city and to figure out whether its often negative portrayal is deserved. We will debate, discuss, and question how such influences shape a culture or define a city, examining nonfiction from Benjamin Franklin, Dennis Lehane, Nick Flynn, and Susanna Kaysen; fiction by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sylvia Plath, and Henry James; and poetry by Robert Lowell and Ann Sexton. We'll also view film excerpts from 'Good Will Hunting', 'The Departed', 'Gone Baby Gone', and 'The Friends of Eddie Coyle'.