So rarely did Bob Windisch '99 hear his mother talk about her life in Viet Nam that the Yale College sophomore has always felt cut off from that part of his heritage. When he discovered that a course on Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American literature was being offered as part of the spring term Residential College Seminar Program, he eagerly signed up.
"I'm half Vietnamese and have always been interested in that part of the world," he says of his mother's birthplace, which she left in 1973 before settling in Madison, Wisconsin. "I was very surprised to see Vietnamese literature as a college seminar, because it's not exactly a common subject here."
In fact, "Contemporary Fiction and Poetry from Viet Nam and Vietnamese Americans" is the first undergraduate course ever offered at Yale -- and possibly at any U.S. college or university -- that is exclusively devoted to that subject. It is taught by visiting lecturer Dan Duffy '83, executive editor of Viet Nam Forum and the Lac Viet monograph series, which are published by the Council on Southeast Asia Studies at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies.
"Until recently, a course like this one couldn't be offered, because there weren't enough texts available in English translation," explains Mr. Duffy, who is proficient in Vietnamese and has been a major force in propelling American interest in Vietnamese literature through his own translations and editorial work. "But now there is a lot more out there, and with the growing interest in the U.S. in literature from the developing world and from exiles and their immigrant children, it seemed the right time to offer the seminar."
Giving undergraduates a chance to explore innovative or new course topics such as Mr. Duffy's are precisely what the University had in mind when it implemented the Residential College Seminar Program in 1969, according to Cathy Suttle, coordinator of the program. "The courses that are selected are meant to be unique and do not duplicate departmental offerings," she says. "They give students the opportunity to engage with visiting or permanent faculty members, staff members or graduate students in a study or activity they might otherwise never have encountered here."
Every year, the Residential College Seminar Program funds 36 seminars. Each of the 12 residential colleges cosponsors three seminars per term. From the start, these offerings have been "extremely popular" with undergraduates, who are encouraged to solicit courses, says Ms. Suttle. Undergraduates also serve on and coordinate the residential college committees that evaluate seminar proposals.
Once each college has chosen the seminars it wishes to sponsor, the final proposals go through a "rigorous" approval process, Ms. Suttle says. First a seminar must be approved by the Committee on Teaching in the Residential Colleges, then by the Course of Study Committee, and finally, it must be submitted to the Yale College faculty for approval. In addition, all seminar teachers receive appointments in Yale College or individual departments, either as visiting lecturers or, in the case of graduate students, part-time acting instructors. Undergraduates receive full course credit, and many of the seminars are approved for credit to relevant majors.
The roster of seminars being offered this term reveals a wide array of course topics. In "The Physics of Flying," for example, Britton Chance, the president and chief naval architect for Chance & Company, explores the physical principles that govern flight. Students who are less scientifically inclined can indulge in a careful reading of Tolkien's three-volume fantasy "The Lord of the Rings," led by Christopher Cobb, a doctoral student in English. Those desiring a different kind of escape can study "The Art of Chinese Gardens," taught by professor adjunct emeritus of architectural design King- lui Wu. Other seminar topics include "Cuba and the United States: The Closest of Enemies," "The Use of Bible in English Literature" also taught by an emeritus faculty member, English professor Dorothee Metlitzki , "Art on Trial" an examination of legal and political battles over works of art , "Contemporary British Cinema" and "Western Images of the North American Indian."
Just as the topics are diverse, so are the seminar instructors, who this term include a foreign affairs analyst for the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; a senior fellow at Harvard's Russian Research Center; a local sculptor; a poet; and an attorney.
A popular seminar is "Bioethics," which is taught by Arthur Galston, the Eaton Professor Emeritus of Botany and professor emeritus at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. In his seminar, students examine some of the ethical issues raised in the fields of medicine and science, such as genetic engineering, fetal tissue research, agricultural policy, prolonging life by artificial means and physician-assisted suicide. While a show of hands during a recent seminar revealed that many of the students plan careers in medicine, others simply wanted to take part in a lively discussion about some of the controversial topics being raised.
"I signed up because I heard from word-of-mouth that it's a great seminar," says Elaine Pincus '96, a biology major. "While I'm not interested in a medical career, I am interested in environmental and population issues, to which bioethics is also relevant."
Ms. Pincus was one of some 60 students who originally applied for the seminar, and was one of 18 undergraduates lucky enough to get in. Most seminars have a cap of 18 students, while some, such as writing classes, admit only 15. Seminar instructors must thus select students using a variety of criteria, according to Ms. Suttle.
"In seminars where the demand exceeds spaces, the instructors have to admit six students from each of the sponsoring colleges five for writing courses ," she explains. "We also recommend that instructors take into account whether a student has ever taken a seminar before, and if they are seniors who never had that opportunity, we like to be able to accommodate them. After that, faculty can base their decisions on their own criteria, such as writing samples or whatever else the student wrote on their seminar application."
Professor Galston, who has taught in the Residential College Seminar Program for seven years, generally selects students based on their level of interest, which this term resulted in a diverse class. "Their majors range from biology to theater," notes the botanist. "Some will be engaged in wrenching ethical decisions of their own as doctors, while some may never again consider any of the issues we are discussing in class. But right now, they are all very interested in learning and talking about bioethics."
Professor Wu, who has taught "The Art of Chinese Gardens" for more than a decade, has had more than 100 students apply for his seminar, and has discovered that, sometimes, the student who shines the most is the one whose major is most unrelated to the seminar topic. He recalls one student majoring in music who outdid some of the architecture students on his seminar's final project, to create a Chinese garden in model form.
"I can still remember it because this student did such a remarkable job," says Professor Wu. "It was better than anything that was ever done by the architecture students. I was completely amazed." Professor Wu keeps that student in mind as he chooses among the applicants for his seminar. "I tell my students not to be afraid of doing anything, just enjoy what you are doing," he explains. "The ones who do that get the most out of the seminar."
Among other seminars that are perennial favorites are "Investigative Journalism," taught by Bruce Shapiro, associate editor of The Nation; "Reforming America's Schools," led by Hillhouse High School teacher Burt Saxon; "Plagues and Peoples," taught by Dr. William Summers, professor of therapeutic radiology, molecular biophysics and biochemistry and genetics; "Dance Composition," instructed by dancer Barbara Feldman; and "The Art of Metal Sculpture," taught by Anne Lehman, a local sculptor. Two new seminars this year --"Twentieth Century Women's Spiritual Autobiography" cotaught by the Reverend Cynthia Terry of the Chaplain's Office, Rabbi Sharon Cohen-Anisfeld of Yale Hillel and Sister Jo-Ann Veillette of St. Thomas More and "College Students and the Law" cotaught by assistant deans Kimberly Goff-Crews and Shannon Salinas -- were so well-received that they will again be offered next year. In addition, seminars that have been led by well- known public figures, such as Yale alumni William H. Buckley and Lowell P. Weicker, also draw wide student interest.
"In my four years here, I've seen a broad range of seminar topics," says Liz Alvarado '97, who is currently taking "The Art of Metal Sculpture" and two years ago learned about U.S. intelligence operations in a seminar taught by a former CIA official. Ms. Alvarado, who is double majoring in political science and economics, has never taken a studio art class at Yale. In her current seminar, she has created several sculptures and, as a final project, must design a sculpture for a public space and write a proposal as if she were trying to commercially market the piece. "It's a big break from my other classes," she says. "It has given me insight into the art world in general."
Often, seminar instructors find that they get as much out of teaching the class as do the students. Mr. Duffy, for example, says he gains insight from those in his class, who are looking at Vietnamese stories and poems with "fresh eyes," and whose critiques of the works can be a good indicator of how well the literature would be received as part of the publications he edits.
For Professor Galston, who wanted to keep working after his retirement seven years ago, the Residential College Seminar Program allows him to continue doing what he loves most. And the conversations on bioethics that he has had with his students and others have inspired him to consider doing some serious writing on the subject, says Professor Galston.
And for Professor Wu, his seminars bring alive for him childhood memories of days spent in a garden outside his home in China. "I grew up in this garden," he says. "But there is only one Chinese garden in the Western world that is authentic in the Metropolitan Museum , so I don't get to see them here. I love showing the students my many slides of Chinese gardens and seeing them create their own. Both students and the teacher have to enjoy what they are doing together; otherwise, it's not educational."
--By Susan Gonzalez