Spring 2008 Preceptorials

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All preceptorials are free of charge

Please remember that students will be picked by lottery and you will be informed by your Preceptorial Leader if you are selected for either the class or the wait list.
1. Beethoven String Quartets: What Makes Them Great

Description: Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time, created some of his most powerful and moving music in his string quartets.  In this preceptorial, the Daedalus Quartet will explore Beethoven's quartet music, and in particular his first published string quartet, through performance and discussion.  

Preceptorial Leader:  The Daedalus Quartet
Preceptorial Organizer:  Danny Fein
Tentative Date:  10/20/08
Tentative Time: 6-8pm


2. First Friday Gallery Crawl and Historical Tour of Old City

Description: Thought you knew Philadelphia? Think Old City has nothing to offer beyond the city's best restaurants? This preceptorial proves you wrong. Led by Dr. Solomon Katz, a long-time resident of Old City, learn about the many historic buildings, visit some of the best galleries in town, and even bid on some art. While we won't go to Amada, we will go to one of the best pizza places in Old City Philadelphia and even stop by the Franklin Fountain, which serves some of the city's best ice cream where we can talk about some of the history of ice cream in Philadelphia which is particularly rich (with pun intended, of course!).

Preceptorial Leader:  Dr. Solomon Katz
Preceptorial Organizer:  Jith Eswarappa
Tentative Date:  October 3rd or November 7th 
Tentative Time: 3-4 hours, in the evening


3. The Life of Geishas  

Description: Ever since the appearance of Arthur Golden’s book and its subsequent award-winning movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”, more and more Americans are becoming interested in the life of geisha: their origins, their training, their purpose of existence, and etc. In this Preceptorial, Professor Linda Chance will lead students into the world of geisha through movie previews and discussions. Professor Chance will also be discussing the transformation of the old geisha society into a modern one in the 21st century.  Movies includes Memoirs of a Geisha and Sisters of the Gion.   

Preceptorial Leader:  Professor Linda Chance
Preceptorial Organizer:  Zuolu Liu
Tentative Date:  10/3/08
Tentative Time: TBD


4. Smart Clothes: clothing and fashion as art

Description: (From preceptorial leader Judith Shea.)  The sessions, to take place in my art studio in New York City, will reflect on my personal trajectory on this subject, beginning in the early 1970s; and how issues of both art and fashion met, did combat, and eventually joined in what became my artwork.  

In the process of exploring this, a solid grounding in the fundamental aesthetics which are applied to fashion in the modern world will be offered, as well as an introduction to the primary sources for viewing original material and for further reading.


Preceptorial Leader:  Judith Shea, Artist, Senior Critic, Penn School of Design
Preceptorial Organizer:  Zuolu Liu
Tentative Date:  10/4/08 and 10/18/08
Tentative Time: 1-3pm


5. City of Murals  

Description: Philadelphia has been called the "City of Murals" for its impressive collection of outdoor murals. Student will learn about Philly's local murals from Penn professor Dr. Jane Golden of the Fine Arts department. This Preceptorial will then lead students on a guided trolley tour through the Mural Arts Program.

Preceptorial Leader:  Professor Jane Golden
Preceptorial Organizer:  Vandana Sood
Tentative Date:  TBD
Tentative Time: TBD


6. Music and Consumer Choice in the Digital Age  

Description: Music blogs and social media sites like mySpace, Facebook, Pandora, Last FM and the Hype Machine have significantly changed the way that consumers discover music.  This preceptorial will take a look at the current state of musical discovery in social media on the web. Participants will be asked to evaluate and discuss the best sites and talk about some of the cool new bands you've discovered.  By the end of the second session, each student will have created a unique CD compilation of musical discoveries to share with each other.  Students will also attend a concert at World Café Live.   

Preceptorial Leader:  Bruce Warren, Program Director, WXPN
Preceptorial Organizer:  Danny Fein
Tentative Date:  11/18/08 and 12/2/08
Tentative Time: 6-8pm


7. A Musical Amuse-bouche: Orchestral and operatic tasting menu
Description: Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 and Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg represent two of the more accessible large-scale works for curious listeners of classical music. In this preceptorial, learn how these works subscribe to their respective genres and also depart from the norm. No previous musical background needed—just a genuine interest and in understanding more. 
This seminar will consist of two 1-hour sessions followed by a trip to the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, November 13th at 8 pm to watch the Philadelphia Orchestra perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.  Tickets and septa tokens will be provided. This preceptorial is sincerely welcome to all individuals – virtuosos, beginners, or even music fanatics – to experience what Philadelphia and classical music have to offer.
Preceptorial Leader:  Dr. Suhnne Ahn
Preceptorial Organizer:  Diane Dao
Tentative Date:  11/5/08 and 11/12/08, 7-8pm, performance on 11/13/08 at 8pm


8. Global Justice/Citizenship in Film  

Description: In this preceptorial, students will be shown a film on a particular global issue such as poverty, justice, social movements or economics. After the film, students will participate in a discussion with the professor. The discussion will likely include an interactive activity for the students as well to relate with the film and with each other. Food will be served during discussion which will be from the country of topic for the film, or from an appropriate culture.

Preceptorial Leader:  Professor Kathleen Hall, Graduate School of Education and Faculty Master at Harnwell College House
Preceptorial Organizer:  Thomas Hou
Tentative Date:  An evening in Oct. or Nov.
Tentative Time: TBD


9. Cheese Tasting with Tria

Description: Today, one cannot pick up a magazine or newspaper without being bombarded by the mysteries behind taste and smell. In that context, cheese is often viewed as a "time bomb for arteries", a breeding ground for bacteria, or simply as a regular day to day commodity. This preceptorial aims to explore the complex flavors, marvelous textures and unique fermentation processes that are often ignored. What kind of cheeses do we generally like? How do we choose? How do we distinguish one texture and flavor from another? Along with our resident Philadelphia cheese expert from Tria (a bar cafe that celebrates the fermentation of cheese, wine and beer), we will explore beyond the labels and fat contents to fuse together flavors, textures and a whole different variety of cheeses.

Preceptorial Leader:  Julia Horses
Preceptorial Organizer:  Vidushi Bajoria
Tentative Date:  TBD
Tentative Time: TBD


10. Teaching People About Creating Ethical Business Environments

Description: Economic and social development depends on many factors.  One critical factor is social capital; a growing number of development theorists and practitioners understand that social capital is the hidden foundation on which much of traditional development infrastructure is built.  There is, therefore, a growing demand for advice on the creation of ethical business environments.   This preceptorial is not about social capital itself but instead addresses issues in teaching about one aspect of social capital.

Preceptorial Leader:  Professor Phil Nichols
Preceptorial Organizer:  Cindy Jia
Tentative Date:  September 29 and 30
Tentative Time: TBD


11. Healthcare for Women in Underdeveloped Countries

Description: Most Penn students are probably aware that healthcare for women in underdeveloped countries is very different from that of the United States and other developed nations. Lack of educated physicians, facilities, supplies and funding, in addition to political turmoil, cultural discriminations, and taboos have prevented many women from getting quality healthcare in these countries. So how exactly are the healthcare systems different in third world nations? What is healthcare like for women there? Come and join Dean Meleis, an international renowned expert in international health care, in an enlightening seminar on health care for women in third world nations.

Preceptorial Leader:  Dr. Afaf Meleis, Dean of Nursing
Preceptorial Organizer:  Zuolu Liu
Tentative Date:  11/20/08
Tentative Time: 12-2pm






12. Happiness, Positive Psychology, and Psychotherapy

Description: This preceptorial will provide an overview of the field of positive
psychology, and discuss major findings about positive emotion, character,
and their application to psychotherapy.  There will be reading as well as
exercises which will provide experiential learning.

Preceptorial Leader: Dr. Richard F. Summers
Preceptorial Organizer:  Charmaine Hanson
Tentative Date:  11/13 and 11/20
Tentative Time: 5-6:30pm


13. The Potter’s Wheel

Description: Join us as we learn more about the art and discipline involved in throwing vases, bowls, and cups as we take you through the basics of pottery. This preceptorial will mainly focus on how to make a bowl from scratch. Some people know how to make a home cooked meal from the bare essentials, and after this preceptorial you will know how to make utensils from the bare essentials of water, clay, glaze, etc.  If you don’t know what glaze is or how it protects humans from poisoning themselves …. Register, Attend and Learn.

Preceptorial Leader: Professor Matthew Courtney
Preceptorial Organizer: Charmaine Hanson
Tentative Date:  11/7 and 11/14
Tentative Time:  1-3pm


14. Nutrition in College

Description: In this preceptorial. Dr. Volpe will focus on healthy eating and lifesyle in the hectic college lifestyle. She will discuss different issues and challenges faced by college students with limited resources and also answer any questions that students may have about improving or maintaining their health. 

Preceptorial Leader: Dr. Stella Volpe
Preceptorial Organizer:  Diane Dao
Tentative Date:  TBD
Tentative Time: TBD





15. Sex, Drugs, and Judaism: an examination of Judaism’s take on contemporary issues

Description: TBD

Preceptorial Leader: Rabbi Ephraim Levin, Director of the Lubavitch House at Penn
Preceptorial Organizer:  Bennett Meier
Tentative Date:  TBD
Tentative Time: TBD


16. THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: SCREEN VERSUS TEXT

Description: October 16: In the first part of this two-part preceptorial, we will watch The Merchant of Venice: Uncut. Recipient of Best of Fest at the Sarasota International Film Festival for his first feature film The Adulterer and director of The Summoning of Everyman, an adaptation of the Medieval Morality Tale, Director Douglas Morse will subsequently conduct a discussion of his film adaptation of Shakespeare's play.

October 17: The second part of the preceptorial will be a close reading and discussion of two "The Merchant of Venice" with Professor Phyllis Rackin, a long-time Penn faculty member who is also a former president of the Shakespeare Association of America.  Students should read the play in advance and bring a copy to the meeting.

Preceptorial Leaders: Professor Phyllis Rackin and Douglas Morse
Preceptorial Organizer: Varun Jain
Tentative Date: October 16, 17
Tentative Time: TBA


17. An Amish Trip

Description: Take a trip to Lancaster to meet the Amish and learn about their culture.

Preceptorial Leader: TBD
Preceptorial Organizer:  TBD
Tentative Date:  TBD
Tentative Time: TBD


18. Journalism and Global Health

Description:  Want to meet and talk with a professional journalist  who has been through firsthand the crises in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia? And a professor who has studied the impact of health on the today's United States public policy and government? Join this preceptorial for a chance to both interact with a scholar in the field and a professional journalist in a small group discussion and video broadcast.

The journalist is Antigone Barton. She reported on a grant from us on HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean - Haiti and the DR specifically. As a result of her reporting and her videographer's videos, USAID issued emergency funding to Haiti's state penitentiary to help curb the rampant spread of the disease. See her project page here: http://pulitzercenter.org/showproject.cfm?id=51. She has loads of experience presenting on global health issues - specifically related to HIV/AIDS - and we just heard today she has been awarded the Knight health journalism fellowship to go to Zambia for a year.

Preceptorial Leader: TBD
Preceptorial Organizer:  Nancy Wang
Tentative Date:  TBD
Tentative Time: TBD
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Spring 2008 Preceptorials
