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The ways in which deception permeates various parts of society was the focus for an enlightening First-Year Seminar (FYS) taught last semester by David Shulman, associate professor of anthropology and sociology.
“The Manipulation of Appearances” focused on the trends of dishonesty in contemporary American society, looking at how deception is attained and what effect it has on everyday life.
Michelle Swick ’09 (Scotch Plains. N.J.) says she enjoyed the class so much that it could end up playing a big part in the career she chooses.
“I absolutely loved it. I thought Shulman did a really good job of presenting the information,” Swick says. “Even when we had papers–I liked writing the papers. We were allowed to write about pretty much anything we wanted. We just had to relate it to the class. If you put the work in, it was really enjoyable.”
Though she is undeclared, Swick says taking the FYS convinced her to enroll in Introduction to Sociology this semester.
For Shulman, the class was an extension of his lengthy research into deception in the workplace. The course examined some cases of white-collar crime in the post-Enron era where corporate fraud is being prosecuted on a more regular basis.
Students also looked at advertising and analyzed the way in which it molds our perceptions. In addition, they discussed the boom in plastic surgery and how that creates deception.
The seminars, each limited to 16 students, are geared toward introducing freshmen to the intellectual rigors and expectations of college life. Every seminar focuses on a specific topic and includes significant reading, writing, discussion and presentation, and introduces library research. The seminars are affiliated with Lafayette’s College Writing Program, which supports students throughout their academic careers. The classes incorporate a variety of co-curricular events, such as attending live performances, and visiting museums or exhibits related to course topics.
“There’s something great about a FYS experience, something different than what they had in high school. They’re expected much more to work intellectually as individuals,” Shulman says.
“They get to know professors. Class sizes are purposely small. They get to really see professors obsessing over their writing and their subjects. It really is a seminar.”
William Cheyney ’09 (Buffalo, N.Y.) found the FYS to be illuminating in his academic and personal life, and recommends the experience.
“The class shows you how to be a critical thinker,” says Cheyney. “If somebody were to ask me which seminar to take, I would tell them, ‘You’ve got to take this one.’”
Shulman says getting students to think beyond the normal boundaries of class discussion and lab experimentation is a critical part of the education process, something the FYS classes help facilitate.
“Education is more than just going to class,” he says. “There are things that you should be thinking about that should be interesting to you out of the regular class time. If a professor pulls that off, that’s a good thing.”
The author of multiple publications including Talking Sociology,Shulman has received numerous awards, fellowships, and grants, including a MacArthur Summer Research Fellowship, funding from the Harvey Kapnick Fund, a shared grant from the London Business School’s Center for Marketing, and funding for a Law and Society Association Graduate Student Workshop hosted by University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Northwestern University awarded Shulman the Outstanding Service Award of the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, the Robert Winch Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper, university and teaching fellowships, two honorable mentions for the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, and a grant from the Working Group on Quantitative Methodology.
Lafayette has given Shulman a junior faculty research leave, a service learning fellowship, an EXCEL Scholars grant, a course enhancement stipend, and funding for his mini-conference on experiential education.
He earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University in 1997.