Beyond being experts in their fields,
Whitworth professors are dynamic
teachers who take on relevant topics that
resonate with students. Following, newer
faculty members share how they inform
and equip students in a selection of
Whitworth's compelling courses. BY MEGAN JONAS
United Nations Simulation
(Political Science 296)
Mat Rains, Assistant Professor
United Nations Simulation (known as Model U.N.) is a Jan Term course driven by student interests and focus. Students research and develop solutions to the most pressing issues our global community is facing. Some topics covered this Jan Term include the climate crisis, fighting human trafficking, and memory politics of mass atrocities.
Working as delegates of countries meeting at the United Nations, students guide debates and discussions into areas that resonate with them. It's my experience that students learn the most about international relations in this format, as holding power over the structure of the class really gets them to buy in. The class builds skills like policy writing, public speaking and cooperative problem-solving.
Some topics covered...
include the climate
crisis, fighting human
trafficking, and
memory politics of
mass atrocities.
If you want to generate
AI instead of just use
AI, you have to put in
a lot of work and the
learning curve is long.
Artificial Intelligence
(Computer Science 457)
Qian Mao, Assistant Professor
My areas of research and specialization include deep learning, cybersecurity and using artificial intelligence to optimize network communication. This course discusses the basics of AI, such as searching algorithms and reinforcement learning algorithms. Students learn these algorithms and implement them using programming languages such as Python.
Students make many AI projects in this class. For their final projects in the spring 2024 class, students created amazing programs that used AI to play chess, race car games, snake games and so on. Some students also explored how to utilize AI to enhance cybersecurity in their projects.
The class is challenging. People like using AI because it’s cool, but if you want to generate AI instead of just use AI, you have to put in a lot of work and the learning curve is long. Many students put a lot of time and effort into their programming, and I feel very proud of them.
Writing & Design
(English 110)
Peter Moe, Associate Professor
Writing is foundational for how we think and move about within the academy and beyond. But there's a problem: A growing body of research shows most students do not carry what they learn in their first-year writing courses into their other coursework.
This spring, alongside my colleague [Associate Professor] Nicole Sheets, I piloted a new curriculum for EL 110 based on current research into best practices for teaching writing. This English course is built to help students transfer what they learn to the writing they'll do in their (for example) biology, history, economics or sociology courses.
EL 110 introduces students to the kinds of writing valued in the academy, writing that does serious work on the page, asks hard questions and then works hard to find possible answers. It also gives students practice composing in various media, because once they enter the workforce, it's unlikely they'll be writing thesis-driven papers. They'll be writing in various forms, genres and styles.
This English course is
built to help students
transfer what they learn
to the writing they'll do
in their [other] courses.
I always incorporate...
the media portrayal
of different crimes,
offenders and criminal
justice actors.
Deviance, Crime &
Criminal Justice
(Sociology 283)
Mary Miller, Assistant Professor
Deviance, Crime & Criminal Justice acquaints students with the basics of the criminal justice system: its structures and functions, the processing of the accused, and implementing punishment and its alternatives. This class also notes how crimes are classified, explains why they occur, and examines what we perceive as justice for victims and their families.
This course is relevant to societal issues such as racial and socioeconomic disparities. Specifically, racial profiling, biased policing and sentencing inequalities are a few of the topics that intersect within the criminal justice system and allow for extraordinary conversations in the classroom.
My research examines the media portrayal of intimate partner violence, specifically within the television show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Therefore, I always incorporate in my teaching the media portrayal of different crimes, offenders and criminal justice actors. Examining the differences between media portrayal and the truth is critical.