Master's students start programs with week-long seminar

Eleven adult students, coming from as far away as Brazil and the Netherlands, arrived on campus this week to begin working toward a master's degree in liberal studies. Along with three continuing MALS students, they're here through Friday, attending an intensive introductory week-long seminar and meeting with Skidmore advisors for detailed planning of their self-designed programs.

The seminar, taught by Joanne Devine, professor of English, is focused on "Global Media" -- an exploration of "patterns of global media ownership and media production and their impact on politics and political participation and their potential for creating transnational cultural values."

Working one-on-one with Skidmore faculty, MALS students create individualized concentrations in every area of the liberal arts. After taking the introductory seminar, students typically complete the rest of their coursework in 2 1/2 years at a distance through individualized tutorials with Skidmore professors, in-class courses at universities near their homes and supervised internships.

"We're very excited to welcome this new MALS group into the program and the seminar," said John Anzalone, MALS director. "MALS candidates come to us gripped by ideas that they want to explore. Our job is to help them define the shape and definition of their studies. But our pleasure is watching their process-rich programs unfold. It's endlessly surprising and gratifying."

The courses of study planned by the new crop of students are as diverse as those designed by any incoming class. For example:

• Luc Hofmans, who has worked for 30 years in the healthcare industrry in Belgium and the Netherlands, will study transformation strategies in healthcare in America through courses in sociology, government, cultural anthropology and history;
• Paulette Miniter, a journalist who lives in Cold Spring, N.Y., aims to deepen her intellectual grounding by studying the golden age of American literature between World War I and the Great Depression;
• Christine Campeau, museum educator/school programs coordinator for the Adirondack Museum in Long Lake, N.Y., will focus on education studies with a particular emphasis on progressive place-based education using local culture.