September 2006  |  Volume 2, Issue 1, Page 2

Michael Fournier teaches History of Punk Rock in Spring 2006.

Courses
(continued from page 1)

Learning comes in many forms and from many sources. The bridge that our instructors often provide from the academy to the world at-large helps students connect with real-life issues and decisions. Networking through guest speakers and our instructor’s professional outreach also broadens the benefits of many of our classes.
 
Another characteristic of Ex College courses that students consistently mentioned on the final evaluations as key to their experience is the small class size. Without it, students are quick to note, the interactive education we encourage would be much harder to generate.

Students often remark that they found themselves in seminars with peers from a wide range of academic concentrations, all of whom enrich the inquiry, especially in that large majority of our courses which cut across disciplinary lines. Such courses as “Intellectual Property,” "Latin America: Development, Media, and the Environment,” “Citizenship, Rights, and Policy,” and “Introduction to Game Development,” to name a few, all stand out as examples of how an interdisciplinary approach linked to a small-class setting can create an effective learning environment. The cross fertilization of ideas, the range of academic backgrounds, and the emphasis on student participation in these courses both energized class discussions and gave birth to exciting, innovative projects.

One of our most successful recent offerings was “Art/Politics: An Insider’s View of the Czech Revolution,” taught by artist, filmmaker, and Czech expatriate, Milan Kohout, who was an active participant in the so-called “velvet revolution.” The class – which attracts students across the majors – combines a study of the events leading up to the overthrow of Soviet authority in the former Czechoslovakia with an exploration of artistic expression in the public arena and its value as a tool for positive change. In addition, Milan brought to the class long time friends who share the living history he embodies. Most notable is Martin Palous, the present Ambassador from the Czech Republic to the United Nations, who participated in classes where the discussion centered on the politics of the Czech Republic, past and present.

But ‘Art/Politics” doesn’t end, in any traditional sense, when the semester is over. Last summer, Milan was able to introduce four of his Ex College students, who visited the Czech Republic, to his “ex-underground comrades.” One of the students was so moved that he decided to write his senior thesis about the Czech underground and was able to get in-depth interviews with several key members of the movement.

Analysis of Baseball: Statistics and Sabermetrics.

The class that got the most attention in the press this year was “The Analysis of Baseball: Statistics and Sabermetrics.” Picked up by the New York Times and the Boston Globe as well as the Tufts student newspapers and the Tufts web site, a number of articles highlighted both the class and the work of the students. The instructors, Andy Andres and David Tybor, have professional ties to Tufts through the Friedman School of Nutrition and training in information technology but decided to put their statistical expertise and passion for baseball into practice through this ExCollege offering. Although the “Analysis of Baseball” is a highly mathematical course, the students came from literally every major one can imagine. The interest generated among students in the course resulted, in one case, with research conducted by two students being presented at the annual convention of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) in Toronto. Additionally, students from the class organized a ”Baseball Analysis at Tufts” club which went beyond the class and is open to the entire Tufts community. The group met weekly during the spring semester to encourage continued dialogue and to bring in outside speakers. Many of these guests were professional baseball writers who could explicate the game from both a statistical perspective and personal experience. Both faculty and students attended and contributed to the discussions.

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