Archive of Course Materials

Below are representative course materials from "Astronomy 6: Archeoastronomy and World Cosmology" and also from the Freshman Seminar, "Multicultural Cosmology" offered at Pomona College by Bryan Penprase. The Freshman Seminar was offered for three consecutive years, and involved 15 freshman in an intensive study of materials involving astronomy around the world. The course tried to develop critical thinking skills and develop writing skills through several in-class and independent exercises. Three major writing assignments and several shorter assignments were done during the semester. In addition, a field trip to a mountain observatory (Table Mountain) and a planetarium (Griffith Planetarium) gave the participants direct experience in astronomy. The final writing assignment could also involve creative writing about the cosmology of an imaginary culture, or even the creation of a symbolic exposition of a culture's cosmology such as a mandala or mural.The course was so succesful it was changed to a standard course, "Astro 6: World Cosmology and Archeological Astronomy" that as of 2000, has been offered Fall semester for four consecutive years.

Further information may be found in the course materials below. The student essays from the Freshman seminar course have been included in the rest of the web page, to create an expanding, resource for future students of world astronomy and ancient cosmology.

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