A discussion of the 1969 moon landing in an English 105 class Wednesday was not a look into the past, but a glimpse of the future.

The class, ISUComm/English 105, is part of a transition that may phase out English 104 and English 105. Once every two or three weeks, the class takes time to use a different approach to the curriculum typically taught in foundational English classes.

The students listened to four professors discuss how their particular fields were impacted by the Moon landing in 1969 and how citizens of the time gained knowledge of the event. The theme of this panel discussion paralleled the theme of the class, “The informed citizen.”

Michael Mendelson, professor of English, moderated the discussion and said the class is a sign of things to come.

“ISUComm is a communications curriculum that will replace the present foundation courses,” Mendelson said.

In September, the Faculty Senate will vote on whether the ISUComm program will become a permanent part of the curriculum. If the program is accepted into the curriculum on a permanent basis, the ISUComm classes will replace English 104 and 105.

“These four classes [that make up the ISUComm program] are all taught at the same time, so every two to three weeks, we meet up as one large group, kind of like a learning community, which allows us to use panels to expose students to the intellectual life of the community that freshmen usually don’t get,” Mendelson said.

Presenting speakers to these students enables them to connect with the members of the ISU community, engaging them in the topic and getting them excited, Mendelson said. When the students become engaged in the topic, they will feel more committed to it, which should drive them to work harder, he said.

Four panelists were brought to the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union at 11 a.m. Wednesday to discuss what people in 1969 needed to do to inform themselves about the moon landing.

Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, discussed the moon landing’s impact on society.

“It had a gigantic impact on the popular culture of society, of [society’s] view of itself and what it could and couldn’t do,” Schmidt said.

After each of the four panelists gave opening remarks, students asked questions, quickly becoming involved in the conversation.

One student raised the question of whether the United States would claim ownership of Mars if an American landed on the planet.

Dirk Deam, lecturer of political science, who worked at NASA’s Johnston Space Center in Houston, Texas, said it depended on how the Mars mission would be funded.

“If the mission to Mars was funded privately rather than by the government, this would raise the issue of ownership and of who would be in charge of the operations,” Deam said. At the end of the class, Mendelson said he felt good about the progress of the ISUComm program.

“We’ve been planning the ISUComm courses for four years, and to see it go so well is satisfying,” Mendelson said.

“And also, we teachers collaborate on the structure of the classes, and this collaboration is also satisfying.”