American History Living Learning Community
Course: History 31: American History I
This course provides a survey of the political, social and economic development of American society from the early 17th century through the end of the Civil War era in 1877.

Professor: Marianne Sheldon, Ph. D. University of Michigan
Professor Sheldon's scholarly interests include colonial and revolutionary America, US immigration history, the history of women and the family in the US, the American South, and US urban history.

Art History Living Learning Community
Course: Art History 18: Introduction to Western Art
This course focuses on Europe and the formation of the Western tradition in the visual arts. It studies certain written texts and a selected number of works of art produced between the sixth century B.C.E. and the sixteenth century. This is an introductory course and no prior study of art history is assumed. The goals of the course are to sharpen one's interest in looking at art, to strengthen one's analytical skills, and to examine critically art objects and ideas about art and history that are characteristic of European culture (through the sixteenth century). In addition, the course aims to stimulate thinking about the discipline of art history by examining a range of contemporary issues and approaches, including formal analysis and iconography, as well as interdisciplinary and feminist interventions.

Professor: JoAnne Bernstein, Ph.D. New York University, Institute of Fine Arts
Professor Bernstein is a renowned expert on Renaissance Italian Art.

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Literature Living Learning Community
Course: English 10: Introduction to Literature
This course offers an introduction to the skills, practices, and theories of literary study. The course is writing-intensive, familiarizing students with skills needed for writing critical essays about literature and for close analysis of texts. The course includes discussion of the formal conventions of major literary genres as well as discussion of concepts such as: relationships of literary texts to histories and cultures, the formation of canons, literary movements, and theoretical perspectives that inform literary analysis.

Professor: Kirsten Saxton, Ph.D. University of California, Davis
Professor Saxton's scholarly interests include women and the law, the history of the novel, 18th century British literature and culture, post-colonial literature and culture, theories of sexuality, pedagogy, and composition studies.

Music Living Learning Community
Course: Music I: Exploring Music: Performance, Creation and Cultural Practice
This course offers an introduction to music from the perspectives of performer, composer, improviser, instrument-maker, and scholar. Music is studied as a social art, as a performance practice, as acoustic architecture and spontaneous creation, as a historical artifact and as a cultural signifier. Projects for the class include playing music, listening and analysis, composing, recording, and writing. No instrumental skill, or knowledge of music or notation, is necessary.

Professor: Maggi Payne, MFA Mills College
Professor Payne is a composer, performer, interdisciplinary artist, recording engineer, music editor, and is and the creator of many works for electronic and visual media.

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Nursing Leadership Living Learning Community
(All pre-nursing students living on campus will be enrolled in this LLC.)

The Nursing Leadership Program (NLP) builds on students' coursework by providing the skills and knowledge they need to aspire to leadership roles within the nursing profession. Throughout the year, nursing students will participate in co-curricular, interdisciplinary leadership seminars and workshops. Some events provide "narratives of leadership" by inviting leaders in the nursing field to campus to speak to students about their career trajectories and self-initiated projects that exemplify leadership in action. Other events focus on building skills such as empathy, conflict resolution, and self-advocacy. Students take most of their courses together and will be assigned a special advisor for this program.

Psychology Living Learning Community
Course: Psychology 49: Introduction to Psychology
This course explores the subject matter, methods, and current status of psychology, including brain function, child development, perception, learning and thinking, motivation and emotion, personality, abnormality, and social psychology. The focus is on human behavior, with only limited reference to animal research, and includes cross-cultural issues where applicable.

Professor: Christie Chung, Ph.D. Claremont Graduate University
Professor Chung's research interests include memory in old age, changes in emotional memory throughout the lifespan, statistical memory modeling, and the cognitive changes associated with Parkinson's disease.

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Sociology Living Learning Community
Course: Sociology 55: Introduction to Sociology
This course offers an introduction to basic sociological concepts, theories and methods. Students in the course will be encouraged to develop "sociological imagination," that is, an understanding of the connection between personal biography and history. Course content will include an examination of social structure and culture (and the relationship between these two concepts), the socialization process, the major social institutions and their impact, the nature of inequality in society, and deviant behavior and social problems.

Professor: Margaret Hunter, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
Professor Hunter's research interests include comparative racial and ethnic relations, sociology of gender, contemporary racial attitudes, women of color in the United States, and the sociology of knowledge.

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Scholars in Action Living Learning Communities (SA-LLCs)
First-year residents who select Scholars in Action LLCs will live in Warren Olney or Orchard Meadow Halls. The SA-LLCs available for fall 2008 include Adventure Education, Education, Leadership and Social Justice, Science, and Wellness. While the Scholars in Action LLCs do not have a corresponding course, they do require participation in extracurricular activities. Descriptions of each community can be found below.

Adventure Education Community
The Adventure Education Community provides residents with the opportunity to engage in the beautiful landscape that the Bay Area has to offer. Adventure Education uses outdoor experiences as a forum for teaching important skills and abilities applicable to all aspects of life at Mills College and beyond. Community experiences may include hiking, camping, rock climbing and whitewater rafting. Adventure Education supports growth in integrity, leadership, social awareness, and appreciation of diverse ways of knowing and being. As a resident of the Adventure Education LLC, students will have opportunities to:

• Broaden their capabilities
  
• Develop their outdoor leadership, decision-making, and technical skills, and
  
• Enhance their understanding of the relationship between people and nature.

Students who elect to live in the Adventure Education Community should possess the desire to enjoy and learn from outdoor experiences. Prior experience with outdoor activities is not required.

Education Living Learning Community
The Education LLC brings together people interested in teaching, school reform and community-based initiatives to foster powerful learning, greater equity in student achievement, and a more democratic society. Students will learn about schools, teaching, and education realities and reform in Oakland and the Bay Area. They will meet faculty in the Mills School of Education, and will learn about their research and practices on transforming schools. In addition, they will work with Bay Area teachers to see how they are agents of change.

For students who are thinking about pursuing teaching careers, who are concerned about schools and the state of K-12 education, or who want to develop greater connections to the local community, this LLC offers these opportunities as well as the chance to live with like-minded classmates.

Leadership and Social Justice Community
Mills women change the world in many ways. Students who choose to live in the Leadership and Social Justice Community will have the opportunity to develop their visions for creating change. Residents in this LLC will cultivate their potential for leadership, critical thinking, and civic engagement. Programming for the Leadership and Social Justice Community may include coordination of campus roundtables, teach-ins, and participation in Bay Area political actions. Using the Social Change Model of Leadership Development, participants will gain the critical life-skill of transforming theory into practice.

Science Living Learning Community
This LLC is a good starting point for students considering majoring in any of the scientific disciplines. It will provide an opportunity to live and work with students who are enthusiastic about science, but who have a range of interests from medicine to environmental science. While there is not a specific class associated with this LLC, most students in the LLC will take one or more of the following courses in their first semester: Biology 4, Chemistry 4, Chemistry 17, or Calculus I.

Wellness Community
The Wellness Community is designed for students interested in living a physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually balanced lifestyle. Creating balance can be a critical component of success during college. Through participation in floor activities, residents will explore and create their own wellness philosophy. To promote healthy sleep patterns, this floor will observe extended quiet hours from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am. Residents who select this community are expected to refrain from possession or use of alcohol and tobacco products while residing on the Wellness floor.