Category Archives: History Department

CAS and DEEP Programs

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The dust is settling from the first rush of back-to-school. Among those who headed to the classroom after the Labor Day holiday were scores of students who attend classes at the Lapeer County ISD Education and Technology Center building in Attica, Mich. Some of these participate in the Dual Enrollment Education Partnerships, or DEEP program, offered by Lapeer County ISD and UM-Flint. This program allows capable and interested high school students to take college-level courses and earn college credits. These credits are applicable to four-year degree programs at UM-Flint, and potentially to other institutions.

In addition to offering extra challenges to high school students, the DEEP program encourages enrollment in college after high school and retention in college courses after the first year. According to a study by the University of Iowa’s College of Education, “dual enrollment students who completed 20 or more credits in the first year of college were 28% (p<.01) more likely to persist through the second year in college than were students who did not complete dual enrollment courses.” A major finding of the study was that participation in dual enrollment “indicated statistically significant impacts upon studets’ academic momentum.” The study also indicated positive trends for dual enrollment students completing their degrees in less than average time.

For the 2014-2015 academic year, Lapeer’s ISD is offering two programs: Pre-Engineering and Medical Careers Acceleration. Each consists of four courses, two in the fall semester and two in the winter semester. Enrollment is limited to 30 students in each of the programs. At the end of this academic year, students who have completed both semesters will have earned 13 college credits.

The Medical Careers Acceleration Program (MCAP) is jointly managed by UM-Flint’s College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) and the School of Health Professions & Studies (SHPS). Courses for Pre-Engineering are managed by the Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics (CSEP) Department of CAS.

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This year’s curriculum for MCAP includes BIO 113: Principles of Biology, HCR 206: Health Sciences Applications, BIO 328: Genetics, and PHL 168: Philosophy of Bioethics. The Pre-Engineering classes are CSC 101: Fluency with Information Technology and Computing, EGR 165: Computer Aided Design, CSC 175: Problem Solving and Programming I, and EGR 102: Introduction to Engineering.

The courses selected for inclusion in the Lapeer ISD DEEP program are considered by faculty to be desirable because they will help students develop a stronger academic foundation in the profession being studied and accustom students to the rigors of college-level work.

The Lapeer ISD DEEP program is just one of several for UM-Flint faculty involvement. Another example is just around the corner from the university at Powers Catholic High School. There, students can participate in two separate 12-credit Humanities Programs. The Senior Humanities Program includes ENG 111: College Rhetoric, COM 210: Introduction to Public Speaking, ENG 112: Critical Writing and Reading, and ARH 112: History of Renaissance to Modern Art. The Junior Humanities Program includes ENG 213: American Ethnic Literature, PHL 202: Intro to Logic, ENG 111: College Rhetoric, and HIS 114: Twentieth Century World History.

Sites also exist within the Lapeer Community Schools, Livingston County Schools, and Utica Community Schools. More DEEP program locations are being considered.

For more information on UM-Flint’s DEEP program, please visit their website.

View a video from one of UM-Flint’s DEEP sites in Davison, Mich:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFF6Kv5hJ1w&feature=youtube_gdata[/youtube]

 

 

New History Courses for Fall 2014


The History Department of UM-Flint is adding three new courses to their catalog offerings. Starting in Fall 2014, students can take “Post War Europe” and “France and the World”—both taught by Professor Chris Molnar—and “Gods of the City: Religion and the Urban Landscape” taught by Professor Thomas Henthorn.

Post-War Europe will explore Europe’s struggles and transformations from 1945 to the present day. Following a long history of nearly continuous fighting, and the overwhelming destruction of two World Wars, European countries entered a period of relative peace in the postwar era. The class will look at Europe’s journey from destruction to cooperation, and its place and standing in the world since the end of World War II. Course discussion will focus on a variety of topics such as the Cold War, and the divide it created between eastern and western Europe—but also the remarkably similar experiences each side had with issues like reconstruction, population deficits, and reconciling former enemies to new societies. Students will also explore the challenges Europe faced, and faces, as countries known for emigration have become lands of immigration and culturally diverse populations grow.

Gods of the City: Religion and the Urban Landscape
Gods of the City will encourage students to explore the distinctly urban and suburban forms of religious experiences that have developed in the United States. American cities have been the site of much of what is most creative in modern American religion. Through readings, site visits, and an oral history project with the Arab American Heritage Council, students will learn about the way the urban and suburban physical environment has shaped religious expression—from storefront churches to suburban mosques.
A major component of this course will be engaging Flint’s Arab-American community in a civic engagement project. Students will be able to learn about the rich diversity of traditions within the Arab-American community by interviewing local practitioners, recording their experience, and then making the interview available on the web.
Students will walk away from this course with more than knowledge of different traditions. They will learn about the ways religious expression contributes to the mosaic of America’s communities. Such knowledge is critical in developing cross-cultural competency—a characteristic that is increasingly important to navigate and succeed in a global society.

 France and the World will look at France from 1789, the time of the French Revolution, to the present day. Students will learn about France’s influence on the world as well as the ways that France has been influenced by developments in the wider world. Professor Molnar wants to include social and cultural topics such as music, imagery, art, and the experiences of everyday citizens in addition to political topics. Molnar also wants to explore the call for universal human rights that sprang from the French Revolution—a novel idea at the time—and their impact on French history across the centuries. This will include a close look at France’s overseas territories and Frances treatment of immigrants and minority groups. Another unifying theme of the class will be France’s stance on U.S. involvement in Europe and how it differed from other European opinions.

To learn more about the History Department at UM-Flint, please visit their website.  For information about their other course offerings, visit the UM-Flint Course Catalog.

UM-Flint and Vintage Baseball

Faculty members, students, and alumni of UM-Flint join community members over the summer to make up the Lumber City Baseball Club–Flint’s vintage baseball team. Their goal is to “entertain audiences with authentic competition in a way that provides a meaningful connection with the sport, recreation, and history.” It’s also a lot of fun!

Home games are held on the UM-Flint campus alongside the Flint River at 509 Harrison Street, starting at 2pm.

There are many home games remaining in the 2014 season:

Saturday, May 10 – Wyandotte Stars
Saturday, May 31 – Union BBC of Dexter
Saturday, June 7 – Port Huron Welkins
Saturday, June 21 – Detroit Early Risers
Saturday, June 28 – Bay City Independents
Sunday, July 13 – Wahoo Club of Royal Oak
Sunday, July 20 – Richmond Bees
Saturday, July 26 – Saginaw Old Golds
Saturday, August 2 – Northville Eclipse
Saturday, August 10 – Chelsea Monitors
Saturday, August 23 – Walker Wheels

The public is welcome, games are free of cost, and the players are happy to stick around afterwards to visit with fans.

To learn more visit their website or Facebook page.