Syllabus	RCOL 102: Taking Flight! 100 Years of Aviation in Popular Media	Spring 2010

About this Course

Taking Flight! 100 Years of Aviation in Popular Media: Since the first earth-bound witnesses watched as fellow humans rose above the earth in flying contraptions, people have been fascinated with and excited about flight. Naturally, many of these people have found various was to communicate that fascination and excitement to other people, and even to take to the skies themselves. In this Reader's College, we will explore aviation by retracing the various perspectives from which it has been viewed in all types of media: from newsprint, magazines, and books - to movies and newsreels - to television and radio - to comic books, video games, and the internet - to in-person narratives. We will read, view, and listen to many accounts and representations of flying machines and the human events involving them - covering the time period from shortly after the Wright Brothers' first flights to the current day.

Purpose: This course is a Reader's College and is a 0.5 credit course. It is a continuation of the First Year Seminar, Taking Flight! in which you learned technical aspects of flight and gained hands-on experience in building and flying models. One purpose of this course is to get a view of aviation from the non-technical side, including its history, romance, influence, and importance in the world. Another purpose is to remain involved so that you can be involved in the flying of the PJ-260 at the end of this academic year.

Course Resources: The only book required for this course is Stick and Rudder which you should already have. Other print resources will be handouts and/or available electronically. Non-print resources will include movies and video on DVD and from the internet, sound recordings, in-person narratives from guest speakers, and other forms of media which will be supplied.

Assessment Policies

Grading: The grading for this Reader's Colleges is simply "Credit" or "No Credit". Typically, to receive credit in a CR/NoCR course you must score the equivalent of a grade of C- or better. Your grade for this course will be determined by a combination of attendance and participation.

Attendance Requirements: You are expected to attend each class or required excursion and to make up (see below) any class missed and any required excursion missed (if allowed - see below). (Only one un-made-up absence is allowed to remain at the end of the term.)

Participation Requirements: You are expected to actively participate in class discussions and in events attended during excursions. Repeated failure to participate will jeopardize your credit.

Required Excursions: There are three required excursions during the term. (1) the Festival on January 30, (2) a field trip to the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, and (3) attendance at the inaugural flight of the PJ-260. There is no make-up available for (1); (2) or (3) may only be made up for extraordinary circumstances. Required excursions take the place of a class meeting for the week in which they occur.

Optional Excursions: There will be several optional excursions available during the semester. This will include trips to FLAPS field (and others) for RC flying or observation, trips to nearby airports, and trips to other events or locations related to aviation (both full scale and model). Participation in optional excursions may be used in various ways as make-ups for class absences (see below).

Make-up Policies: Any missed class may be made up with an equivalent class attendance or a previously banked optional excursion. Any class missed before all previous absences are made up may only be made up with an equivalent class attendance. A single remaining un-made-up class can be made up with the next optional excursion - ie, You can bank optional excursions against future absences, but you can't bank more than one absence against future optional excursions. Required excursions (2) and (3) can only be made up for exceptional circumstances. Required excursion (1) cannot be made up.

Credit (or not): If no more than one un-made-up absence remains at the end of the semester (and you have actively participated in discussions and events), you will receive credit for this Reader's College. Otherwise, you will not.

Other

• A Note about the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): Hobart and William Smith Colleges encourages students to seek the academic collaboration and resources that will enable them to do their best work. Students who would like to enhance their study skills, writing skills, or other academic skills may visit the CTL web site at http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/index.aspx or contact the CTL at x3351.

Disability Accommodations: If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations, you should self-identify and register for services with the Coordinator of Disability Services at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and provide documentation of your disability. Disability related accommodations and services generally will not be provided until the registration and documentation process is complete. The guidelines for documenting disabilities can be found at the following website: http://www.hws.edu/disabilities . Please direct questions about this process or Disability Services at HWS to David Silver, Coordinator of Disability Services, at silver@hws.edu or x3351.