Preterm Common Seminar Examines Early History
New Students Descend on Alma for Start of Another School Year
Another potential record-breaking class will descend on Alma College
Aug. 23 for Preterm. Many of the more than 450 new students will study
an award-winning book that takes a new look at the early history of the
Americas.
In 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, author
Charles C. Mann combines new findings from a variety of areas,
including science, literature and archeology, painting a picture of
America that will rival what most incoming students learned in their
history textbooks.
The reason for choosing this text was two-fold, says Marc Setterlund, psychology professor and associate provost.
Move-in day for students means hauling lots of boxes.
“With all of the different areas it pulls together, the book
encompasses the liberal arts,” he says. “I hope students take away the
usefulness of having a variety of perspectives to understand an issue.
Also, when Mann was here last year for the speaker series, he connected
well with the students.”
Mann will speak to individual classes during the day Thursday, Aug. 28,
and address the entire class at 7:30 p.m. that evening in the Remick
Heritage Center. He is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Wired and Science and also has written for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, Vanity Fair and Fortune.
Charles C. Mann
1491 is the winner of the Keck award for best book of
the year from the United States National Academy of Sciences. Mann also
has co-authored four other books and is working on a sequel to 1491.
In addition to the common Preterm sessions, students can chose from a
variety of individual sessions across disciplines, including “History
of Money,” “Fragrances: From Perfumer to Customer,” and “Time and Life
Management.”
New students move in on Saturday, Aug. 23, with the Welcoming
Convocation taking place at 2:30 p.m. on the Remick Heritage Center
lawn. Preterm takes place Aug. 23 through 31, with regular classes for
all students beginning Sept. 2.
Even President Tracy helps families on move-in day.
A lonely puppy takes a nap while waiting to be unpacked.
Posted: Sat, August 16th, 2008 at 2:23PM
