Winter 2020

Winter Quarter 2020

Engaging in University Life

Winter 2020: List

Courses

Total Number of Credits: 15

BIOL 180 -

Introductory Biology

(5 credits)

Mendelian genetics, evolution, biodiversity of life forms, ecology, and conservation biology.

NEAR E 328 - Bioethics: Secular and Jewish Perspectives (3 credits)

Legal, ethical, scientific, and Jewish religious perspectives on contemporary medical and biomedical research practices.

MUSEN 210 - Campus Philharmonia Orchestra (1 credit)

Orchestral opportunity for non-majors. Meets once weekly, rehearses under the direction of the Masters and Doctoral orchestral conducting students.

MUSIC 201 - First-Year Theory I (3 credits)

Introduction to tonal harmony and counterpoint; triadic progressions in root position; first and second species counterpoint; analysis of simple works.

MUSIC 204 - First-Year Ear Training I (1 credit)

Core ear-training sequence; accompanies the first-year theory sequence.

MUSICP 343 - Private Instruction For Non-Majors: Viola (2 credits)

Private lessons bi-weekly with faculty; intended for undergraduate non-majors.

About My Schedule

This quarter, I am beginning the introductory biology sequence which I need to complete before I can officially declare my Biology Major. For a humanities elective and to continue working on my Jewish Studies minor, I am taking Bioethics: Secular and Jewish Perspectives, which is an intersection of several areas of personal interest. Additionally, I am beginning the music theory sequence (and the accompanying ear training sequence. I am interested in music theory and enjoy composing. Since each step in the sequence is only offered once a year (beginning in the winter so that students have time to take the music theory placement test like I did this fall), I want to begin it now so I have time to progress to the higher-level courses courses. Finally, I am continuing my engagement with viola by taking private lessons and participating in campus orchestra. I am taking MUSIC 343 instead of 363 this quarter, because there are no TAs in the professor's studio to give me lessons on the off weeks, so I am simply taking lessons every other week.

Artifacts

Re-Affirming Consent:

The Permissibility of Euthanasia

In NEAR E 328, we examined ethical dilemmas in the Jewish and secular perspectives on a variety of topics. Our main mode of assessment was analyzing the present issues in certain case studies and recommending solutions and/or courses of action compatible with the Jewish and secular perspectives, respectively. For the final, we were tasked with finding a recent news article that laid out issues we had covered in class. I chose a Dutch case of euthanasia, where the consent of the patient was questionable. The uncertain nature of her consent opened up many interesting avenues to examine, in addition to the already-present issues of euthanasia in the secular and Jewish perspectives.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: COVID-19

Seattle was one of the first and hardest-hit areas in the United States. As a result, in Week 10 of Winter Quarter, the University of Washington moved all class meetings online to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. This resulted in having to take online assessments in place of in-person testing, and even the cancellation of one of my finals. Thankfully, we were close enough to the end of the quarter that this did not significantly disrupt learning.

However, UW moved Spring Quarter entirely online. During Spring Break, I moved out of my dorm room and will spend the rest of the academic year learning remotely from home. These are uncertain and challenging times, but I hope to emerge from them with a greater sense of resilience and I am more than happy to do my part to protect the health of our community.

What's Next?

Visit Spring 2020