About 60 students from the 56吃瓜网 were among nearly 600 students from all three 56吃瓜网 campuses who enrolled in .
Two 56吃瓜网 Bothell faculty members 鈥� Karam Dana and Stefanie Iverson Cabral 鈥� were among the two dozen 56吃瓜网 professors who shared insights about a year of historic upheaval and change.
Predictably, the autumn quarter course was conducted entirely online. It had the University鈥檚 top scholars in history, sociology, education, law and science speaking from their kitchens, dining or living rooms to first-year students in their own homes, instead of classrooms on campus.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success Cinnamon Hillyard, also associate professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, led the two 56吃瓜网 Bothell sections of the course as the instructor. In Seattle, 56吃瓜网 Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor, professor in the College of Education, was the lead instructor. 56吃瓜网 President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark Richards introduced the series of 20 recorded lectures.
Crossing disciplines
As the instructor, Hillyard monitored discussion boards, answered questions, met with the 56吃瓜网 Bothell students during office hours and, with the assistance of graduate teaching assistants, gave the final grades. She had one-onto-one meetings with students in a two-credit section, which was part of Discovery Core.
There was one synchronous session in November with about 100 students across all three campuses who shared similar stories of isolation from each campus. 鈥淚t brought us all together in humanity,鈥� Hillyard said.
A good fit with 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 cross-disciplinary approach, 2020: The Course featured perspectives from diverse faculty in public health, social science and data science, with nearly everyone touching questions of social justice, Hillyard said. Issues included racial inequities, health care access, domestic violence, the presidential election and how social media tells you what you want to hear.
The University also has made the lecture 鈥� without the homework. Students completed quizzes, wrote papers and engaged in discussions on the Canvas platform.
The year as artifact
Dana, associate professor in the School of IAS, said he hopedwould help students learn and extrapolate lessons, as if to inoculate them to future predicaments.
鈥淥bserve better,鈥� he advised students. 鈥淏e more critical. And reflect on your observations 鈥� but also reorient and draw conclusions that help you in the future.鈥�
Dana also was one of the 56吃瓜网 experts invited to participate in a public panel discussion on Dec. 30, which was watched live by more than 500 people. He said he felt it was important for himself and the 56吃瓜网 as a public institution to contribute to the community through the course. 鈥淚 hope this pandemic is teaching us to be better humans,鈥� he said.
Iverson Cabral, assistant teaching professor in the School of Nursing & Health Studies, presented . More than any other presenter, Iverson Cabral brought an expansive perspective of pandemics, Hillyard said.
鈥淢ost of the analysis and commentary these days has been focused on 1918 influenza and COVID-19, which makes sense given all the parallels that that exist from these two different moments in time,鈥� Iverson Cabral said. 鈥淲hat I wanted to do was take a lesser-known public health emergency and show how we can always draw comparisons between the past and the present.鈥�
Time capsule contributions
As part of 2020: The Course, students and faculty contributed to a time capsule that will be opened in 2040 by the 56吃瓜网 Alumni Association. Many 56吃瓜网 Bothell students submitted a photo of themselves in a mask or a photo of their family, Hillyard said. One student contributed a photo of an unemployment check; another, a photo of a motorcycle he rebuilt.
For her time capsule video, Hillyard held up six notebooks filled with handwritten notes. 鈥淥ur goal is to flatten the curve,鈥� she wrote early on. Other notes from countless administrative meetings, doodles, messages from her children and the house to-do list represent the complexity of remote operations bringing work and home together.
Iverson Cabral鈥檚 contribution was a kaleidoscopic image of the coronavirus protein made by artist .
The pathogen itself is just one part of the story, Iverson Cabral said. 鈥淚t is important to me to have students, no matter their background or interest, see how microbiology connects to their lives either directly or indirectly.鈥�
In his time capsule video, Dana held up his two passports 鈥� one American and one Palestinian, which he needs to visit his family in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank. As a Palestinian, Dana said he鈥檚 had his fair share of complications crossing borders.
鈥淭he pandemic has shown me there鈥檚 very little difference between a Palestinian passport and an American passport in terms of being able to travel much,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he lesson is your privilege can be interrupted any time.鈥�
The pandemic allows us to better understand the experiences of millions of people around the world who have fallen victim to political conditions beyond their control, Dana said, 鈥淲e should strive to see our own individual suffering in relation to other people鈥檚 suffering.鈥�
Multiple views
One of the 56吃瓜网 Bothell students, Lara Wahid, a junior who plans to major in Biology, appreciated the multiple points of view from all the faculty members and became more aware of different struggles. 鈥溾�滻t did really open my eyes that other people view the world differently than I do,鈥� Wahid said.
For her contribution to the time capsule, Wahid chose a photo of her laptop 鈥� 鈥渨hat you need to survive鈥� when everything is virtual.
Even the young children Wahid oversees in her job at a YMCA in Mukilteo, Washington, have computers. 鈥淭heir lives revolve around computers. Everything鈥檚 on computer. It鈥檚 just become an important part of everybody鈥檚 life.鈥�
Arthur Watson, a post-baccalaureate student in 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 secondary/middle teacher certification program, liked how professors drew upon both their research interests and their personal experiences.
鈥淢y key takeaway is that the nexus of adversity in 2020 is not just a temporary crisis but a highly visible opportunity to reconsider many aspects of disproportionate adversity that many people perceive as 鈥榥ormal,鈥欌�� Watson said.
Watson put a copy of the health care proxy for his elderly mother in the time capsule. The proxy was invoked to make Watson responsible for her health care decisions after she was taken to a facility where she contracted COVID-19. 鈥淔ortunately, she survived; however, that situation is still very challenging and will definitely be the most memorable part of 2020 for me,鈥� he said.
Tumultuous time
Thankfully, 2020 is gone, said Hillyard, but she said she would not mind teaching another tri-campus course that helps students understand the world around them.
鈥淭his has been a great experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so glad we did it.鈥�
