The Observer, February 22, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 18
Letters to the Editor: May courses will be unique, compelling
To the Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge your recent article on the new May Term that will launch May 12, 2008 ["New May Term will provide intensive learning experience," Feb. 8]. As a historian, I was delighted to see it mentioned in the Feb. 15 "The Annals of Observer History, Part I: 1969-1971" as a legacy to a former Intersession promoted in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
I think it is important that students know that some of our best faculty have designed five of the eight courses specifically for this new term so that they can utilize resources in the Cleveland area that are nearly impossible to weave into normal academic year offerings. For example. Professor Peter Haas, in his course "Sacred Space in Western Religion," will take students to various religious institutions where they will examine the art and architecture of those spaces and learn from practitioners. Professor Sara Waller's course, "Contemporary Moral Problems – Service Learning," will use service learning experiences in homeless shelters as an entry into studying some of the more intractable problems of our times. The other courses are equally compelling.
I encourage all students to look into the opportunities offered by the new May Term. Hopefully, it will enjoy a longer and more serviceable life than the Intersession of the 1970s!
Molly Berger
Associate Dean, CAS
