New Western program opens major possibilities
By Lauren Karch
Choosing a major can feel so confining—which is probably why so many Miami University students major in more than one subject. But the redesigned Western program takes it a step further. Under the direction of English professor Mary Jean Corbett, Interim Director of the Western Program, students now have the chance to custom design their own majors.
Sophomore Rita Skiba plans to enroll in Western in the fall to focus more on combining her interests. Originally an education major, she decided that teaching wasn’t for her. Skiba signed up for a Western class about finding one’s passion, and realized through that course that her true interests lie in work with social class.
“The Western faculty is really easy to talk to,” she said. “After talking to them I developed a focus.”
Skiba recently finished a thesis on childhood development in low socioeconomic status families. She plans to enlist in the Peace Corps after graduation, and later possibly do social work with urban students.
“What Western allows me to do is take disciplines from a lot of different majors,” she said. “I need to know a little bit about economics, Black World Studies, Family Studies, and social sciences.”
Skiba said that she definitely recommends Western for students who want to combine two or more majors.
“You really can do it and there are a lot of possibilities,” she said. “As I like to say, my major does not define me, but I define my major.”
Corbett explains that the Western Program began building the foundations of a complete new program within the College of Arts and Sciences after the School of Interdisciplinary Studies (“Western Program”) was closed in 2006. She reports good progress on both the academic and community fronts.
“It’s not in place as of yet, but parts are in place,” she said. “We’re starting small, but we’re hoping to build.”
This fall brought a new living-learning community (LLC) to Peabody Hall, the building that has housed various incarnations of the Western program since 1871. Consisting of about 10 first-years and sophomores this year, the Western LLC is expected to grow as more students join the program.
Colin Matsumoto, a first-year from Westerville, Ohio, is one such student. While perusing a list of living-learning communities, he noticed Western’s emphasis on activism and engaged learning.
An environmentalist and previous activist in the “Forgotten Children” campaign to ease the crisis in Uganda, Matsumoto joined the living-learning community and quickly became interested in enrolling in the Western Program. Wavering between choosing art or Spanish as a major, he realized he could combine the two.
“I found out that it was trying to become the new interdisciplinary program as well,” he said.
The remaining students from the “old” Western Program are also important contributors to the new community.
Emily Volkmann, a first-year history major from Hilliard, Ohio, said that meeting the Western seniors was what sparked her involvement.
“When I was looking at LLCs, I picked Western,” she said. “When I got here, I found that the seniors are interesting, in a good way. They have a lot of cool interests and experiences.”
In addition to combining her love of history with another area of study, Volkmann is considering enrolling in the Western Program to stay involved in what’s happening in Peabody Hall.
“The best part of Western, I think, is the community,” she said.
On the academic front, faculty from around the university have been developing the new program’s curriculum. The first independent Western course will be offered in Spring 2010, “Self and Place,” taught by Kevin Armitage, assistant professor in the program and affiliate of the History Department and the Institute for the Environmental Sciences.
“[The class is] going to look at the issue of identity geographically, look at what forces attach us to places and what attempts to detach us from places,” he said.
Corbett said most of the Western classes will have a similar design.
“The faculty, generally, takes on a major issue and looks at it through a multidisciplinary perspective,” she said.
This semester first-year students in the Western LLC take three courses together in Peabody Hall: English, American History, and a one-credit Western 101 course focusing on community engagement. Matsumoto said, “It’s a lot of discussion on activism-based issues,” such as race, social class, fair trade and labor.
Katie Johnson, associate professor in both the English Department and the Western Program, plans to include a version of her first-year seminar, “Staging Identity,” in a Western Program thematic sequence on theatre and social change, a series she is developing with colleague Ann Elizabeth Armstrong (Theatre Department and Western Program affiliate).
Team-teaching courses is one of the innovative instructional methods of the program.
“We’re really trying to be innovative and think outside the box while drawing upon tried-and-true practices and pedagogy,” Johnson said.
In addition to Western Program courses, students will also complete coursework from other areas in the university that will comprise their individualized focus. Corbett points out that the courses selected could combine students’ multiple interests or they could fulfill a thematic sequence or minor in another department or division.
“With the opportunity to individualize, the Western Program will give students more initiative in what they want to study, how they want to study, and what they want their course of study to look like.”
Johnson adds that the opportunity to delve into coursework and research matched to student interests is one of the most exciting aspects of Western.
“This is the only program in the region where students can draw from courses around the campus, draw from courses that we’re doing, and do their own work.”
To learn more, visit the Western Program website.