First-Year Signature Courses

Imagination, Art, & Science
As a result of taking this course students will be able to make substantive and meaningful connections between a wide range of artistic and scientific disciplines. Classroom activities will combine lecture and discussion of topics, incorporating laboratory/studio experiences and projects.  Students will create art projects that meaningfully develop scientific themes and science projects that explore a variety of dimensions of the visual and other creative arts.

Instructor Bio:
As a science educator and artist I have been developing my skills at fabricating and demonstrating various scientific apparatus and artistic forms to further understanding.  In creating purely artistic subject matter, I strive to provoke conversations about scientific ideas. I enjoy the physicality of shaping materials.  Whether the work features wood, ice, moss, stone, steel or soap bubbles to generate a desired outcome, there is always a negotiation between what I can skillfully execute and what the material will allow.  Pushing the edge of what I can accomplish is an ongoing goal.  My modality of working can best be described as free form. I rarely work from models or drawings, preferring to let the figure emerge directly, letting the mistakes fall where they may.  Before setting about to begin a piece I spend time contemplating the materials I have at hand and the desired outcome.  Through showing respect for the materials and processes, eventually the time I spend working generates a finished form.  In executing my work and teaching my classes, I have found that art and science have many complimentary aspects.  Discovery in any form adds to the complexity of our world, reinforcing and pushing the boundaries for what is possible.  Art and science both instigate thoughts that, if done with skill, can communicate transcendent ideas about our world in emotional and personal ways.

American Blues: Music, cultural history and expression
The history of the blues is the history of 20th-century America, and no greater illustration of its tragedies and triumphs exists than two days in 1936. On Nov. 23, Robert Johnson recorded some of the most famous blues songs ever, to be covered by hundreds of acts and revered by millions of fans. But the night before, while playing on the street for extra cash, he was arrested, roughed up and had his guitar destroyed by local police who thought -- despite his insistence -- he was a vagrant. Thus one session that moved the musical world forward was preceded by an event that reflected the backwards attitudes the blues, and Black America, continuously tries to conquer.
 
This course will use cultural and social history, writing, music, popular culture studies, psychology and other fields to probe how the blues and its history provides lessons on an America that was and still is, while also offering opportunities for student self-expression and supporting intercultural knowledge and competence.

Instructor Bio:
Tim Nekritz is a communications professional, published historian and amateur (but improving!) musician. By day, he serves as director of news and media in the college’s Office of Communications and Marketing, telling the stories of the SUNY Oswego family. He also has taught in communication studies for 15 years. A former music columnist and promoter, Tim is a voracious blues researcher, working on publishing projects and on differentiating between the two Sonny Boy Williamsons. He plays bass and sings at open mics and a variety of jams. In addition, Tim’s 8-year-old son, Arius, is trying to teach his dad to become a competent gamer.
 

Brain Rules and Student Success
Brain Rules and Success is a wellness course that combines the 12 rules of how the human brain works with what student’s need to be successful and healthy. The course also provides a 100 day academic and personal game plan to feel and stay organized while involved in the many aspects of campus life.  

Instructor Bio:
Mary Pagán is a full-time Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness at SUNY Oswego. She received her M.S. degree from Syracuse University’s Exercise Science Program and M.A. from SU’s Sociology department where she is completing her PhD focusing on health across the life course. Mary is a certified life coach and gerontologist who brings her love of human performance and athletic/personal training to the classroom. 

She believes that teaching students how to identify and capitalize on their individual potential makes the difference in academic and personal success. Professor Pagán’s first goal is to help students feel welcomed and supported in their communities at SUNY Oswego. Professor Pagan shares “when a student feels safe, welcomed, and supported their college life goals for academic, personal, and social experiences become clearer and more focused”. Pagán is known for using social media, movies, and sports to highlight life’s joys and challenges.
 

Esports and Video Game Culture
Are you into Minecraft? Skyrim and Fallout? Or maybe Overwatch and Valorant? Regardless of what games we are discussing, video games are recognized as a form of media to be enjoyed and studied much in the same way as cinema and literature. What do games tell us about ourselves and our cultures? Consider the defining aspect of video games: interactivity. What do our player choices mean for us in the non-virtual world, if anything at all? What values are incorporated into game design, and how do we, as players and scholars, respond? What do the games we play, and how we play, tell us about our communities – both in game and out? Who are we in the virtual realm? Who are we outside that realm? 

These are some of the questions we will ask in this First Year Signature Course “Esports and Video Game Culture.” Students will have the opportunity to read and study video games academically, while maintaining ample room to consider their own life experiences and relationships to video games and video game culture. Sample topics include level design, narrative, multiplayer, representation, meaningful play, mechanics, platforms, production and resource requirements, content creation, and public discourse.  Readings, writings, class discussions, final project.

Instructor Bio:
Jarrod Hagadorn is an instructor in the Department of Cinema and Screen Studies (CSS) where he teaches courses in production, video game studies, and film studies. Prior to teaching in CSS, Jarrod taught courses in literature and writing for several years and still loves to discuss his favorite novels and authors. He is also the faculty advisor for SUNY Oswego Esports where he attempts to build physical community in a space that is increasingly online. He laments, “Where did the LAN parties of the 90’s go?” He loves building computers and has been doing so since his father brought home their first family PC when Jarrod was a child. He is an avid gamer and has built a few short games that convert works of literature into playable experiences (RPG Maker, Aurora, Unity). Regarding gaming, his most recent download is V Rising, where he builds beautiful gothic resorts to house villagers in various suites and accommodations. 

Teachers are Superheroes: Representations of Teachers in Popular Culture 

This class is an examination of the teacher trope in various forms of media and popular culture, from children's literature to film, television and more. As an education course, students contend with what their image is of "the teacher" and where this comes from, having engaged with the trope in multiple forms and needing to analyze it for its realistic portrayal, or otherwise. Students engage in written analysis of teacher narratives and popular culture texts, as they seek to debunk the myths that exist around teaching and teacher identities. Ultimately students work towards the critique of our societal definitions of the teacher and an assessment of how to better understand and appreciate the role's significance in our culture.

Instructor Bio:

Dr. Sarah Fleming is a visiting Assistant Professor of English Education, having formerly taught high school English for twenty-one years in central New York schools. She is passionate about working to help pre-service candidates be prepared for their first classroom experiences, and she works specifically with the adolescent English Education students. As such, Dr. Fleming is especially interested in all things related to literacy and young adults, namely the use of young adult literature in the disciplines and approaching all teaching and learning from a stance of inquiry. When not teaching, Dr. Fleming can be found with her nose in the latest YA book or binge-watching all sorts of genres on Netflix, or trying to keep up with her son’s love of video games. 
 

This is the Way: Life Lessons from Star Wars
What can Yoda teach us about our mindsets and failure? How can the Clone Wars help us understand our own geopolitical conflicts? These are just some of the questions students will engage with in GST 198: This is the Way. In this course students will use Star Wars multimedia (books, movies, shows, etc.) as a lens through which important life lessons from a galaxy far, far away can be learned to help them succeed both in the classroom and beyond. Topics will include growth mindset, fear of failure, political/moral philosophy, cultural impact, leadership and more. Through critical thinking, oral and written communication, and demonstration of intercultural knowledge and competence, students will be able to identify which Star Wars stories can help guide them on their own academic and personal journeys in life.

Instructor Bio:
Andrew Buchmann is an Academic Success Advisor in the Advisement Center serving first-year and transfer students from Communication Studies, Cinema and Screen Studies, and Creative Writing. Having earned both his B.A. and M.S from SUNY Oswego, Andrew is a lifelong learner dedicated to student success. In addition to advising a caseload of students, Andrew is the Starfish Coordinator for the campus and a co-facilitator for the SUNY Starfish Community of Practice. Outside of his vocation, he enjoys all things Star Wars, LoL Esports, and streaming on Twitch or creating content for TikTok. 

The Science of Standup
Stand up comedy is a science. The comedic material presented is an observation of human behavior with critical thinking regarding perspectives and experiences.  Comedic delivery is the result of experimentation in wording, timing, and the reactions of the audience. Even the concept of ‘funny’ is a science in itself with cultural and individual variation.  For this course, we examine comedy and the science behind it. What comedic bits are accurate observations regarding people’s behavior? What makes a joke funny? Why is something “funny because it is true”? Students will gain experience creating stand up bits regarding their lives, college, and culture, focusing on comedy as naturalistic observation of human behavior. Students will also learn about comedy and satire’s role in politics, culture, and human relationships while workshopping their own written and spoken material.

Instructor Bio
Rebecca Burch is a Professor in the Human Development department. In the past 20 years at Oswego she has taught courses on treatment of women, activism, adolescence, poverty, human sexuality, brains and behavior, drugs, hormones, cultural differences and even television shows. She is an evolutionary psychologist who specializes in research in sexual behavior, violence, and popular culture. Sometimes all of this work collides, like in her most recent research that focuses on depiction of comic book characters and common tropes in television and film. Her work has also been spotlighted by several documentaries, newspapers/sites, magazines, pop science sites, television shows, and nonfiction books (and even a novel). In her free time, she enjoys all the products of popular culture (e.g., movies, books, TV, comics, music, art) as well as travel, gardening, and her three not-so-bright-but-very-cute dogs. 
 

Math for Smarter Gambling 

From ancient times to the present day, gambling has been a popular pastime enjoyed by people around the world. While games of chance and skill can be exciting and entertaining, they also involve risk and uncertainty. Can mathematics be used to gain an edge in gambling and increase the chances of winning?
This course explores the intersection of mathematics and gambling, examining the mathematical principles that underlie both games of chance and skill. The course focuses on the use of mathematics to gain an edge in gambling, with a specific focus on popular casino games and poker. Students will delve into the mathematics of gambling, examining the odds and probability of games such as blackjack, roulette, craps, and poker. They will learn how to calculate the house edge, pot odds, and expected value, and how to use probability to make strategic decisions in games. The course will also cover advanced techniques for gaining an edge in gambling, such as card counting in blackjack, betting systems, and bluffing in poker. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the mathematics behind gambling and poker, as well as the tools to make smarter decisions when playing.

Instructor Bio
David Cossio-Ruiz is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department at the State University of New York at Oswego. His decades-long involvement with national and international Math Olympiad competitions have shaped his teaching philosophy about Mathematics being an agent of transformation of personal behavior. He believes all humans have the capacity to learn and love math and have developed several projects to bring mathematics to the masses, including a successful TikTok account.
In his free time, he loves to watch Esports, specifically DOTA games, where his two amazing teenage sons participate as professional esports players.