SAGES Fellows

 

Program History and Objectives

SAGES introduces students to academic inquiry in seminars that foster critical discussion and active engagement.

In adopting SAGES, CWRU made a commitment to transforming undergraduate education, and we actively seek SAGES Fellows who will be agents of this transformation. Strong candidates will have significant experience teaching small, inquiry-based classes, and will embrace the conception of learning inherent in the seminar approach. They will be able to get students into the habit of engaging in intellectual conversation, in part by fostering ethical reflection and deliberation. They will integrate writing into their seminars by treating it as an intellectual activity in its own right—one that requires clarity of presentation, linguistic resourcefulness, and the exercise of reflective judgment.

The SAGES Fellows are valued colleagues not only to faculty members within their disciplines, but also to faculty and fellows from across the University who are similarly engaged in the venerable yet evolving practice of seminar instruction.

 

Program Details

Each SAGES Fellow will design and teach seminars on one of three themes:

• Thinking about the Symbolic World
• Thinking about the Social World
• Thinking about the Natural/Technological World

These themes are sufficiently general to allow considerable variation in the choice of specific seminar topics.

Not every seminar topic falls neatly (or exclusively) under a single theme; much depends on the course content and the instructor's intentions. An art history seminar, for example, could be listed under Symbolic World if it dealt with aesthetic language, under Social World if it dealt with patronage of the arts, or under Natural/Technological World if it dealt with art conservation. Similarly, a seminar exploring mathematical descriptions of nature could be listed under Symbolic World.

Like other faculty and fellows, SAGES Fellows will:

• have the opportunity to consult with the program director and other members of the CWRU faculty in developing a detailed course plan;
• teach at least one seminar that meets for three 50-minute sessions or two 75-minute sessions each week;
• meet with students outside of regular class times to discuss course material and academic progress;
• participate in orientation sessions before the semester begins;
• meet regularly as a group with the program director.

Compensation for SAGES Fellows begins at $5,000 per course.

Two special categories of SAGES Fellows have been created:

Samuel M. Savin SAGES Fellows will be visiting faculty who have achieved particular distinction in scholarship or teaching.

SAGES Postdoctoral Fellows will typically be appointed for an entire academic year, during which they will teach 4-5 University Seminars.

 

Applications

Applicants to the SAGES Fellows program are asked to submit the following materials to arthur.evenchik@case.edu:

• a letter of interest
• a cv
• a writing sample
• a proposal for a University Seminar, outlining essential questions that the course will address, the sequence of thematic units, and major reading and writing assignments
• email addresses for two references

When candidates are accepted into the program, we ask them to contact the university where they obtained their most recent degree and have a transcript or certification of completion sent directly to the SAGES office. 

In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity.