Alien Worlds focuses on the search (and study of) extraterrestrial worlds, some of which may harbor life. We will embark on an examination of our solar system, and the discovery and characterization of the more than 6000 confirmed planets orbiting other stars. This seminar will examine alien worlds we can touch, alien worlds on which we can land (or have landed), alien worlds that are studied from a great distance, and the question of how common life is in the Universe. Students will be exposed to the myriad discoveries coming from current studies of extrasolar planets, including recent results that indicate planets around other stars appear to be common.

This class will conduct a philosophical investigation into digital media— including television, film, social media, and virtual reality—to explore questions about perception and cognition. Questions include (but are not limited to): how do we perceive digital and non-digital content differently? What about our perceptual and cognitive faculties enable television and film to be so culturally formative? In what way does social media usage affect our attention, cognitive patterns, and personal identity? Will virtual reality influence our engagement with a non-virtual world?

A creative writing workshop has several moving parts. The members of a workshop— writers with unique stories to tell— function as a team, working together for the betterment of one another and for the overall collective. Each writer will offer their piece for class discussion on a designated “workshop day,” pieces which will be generated in response to the multi-genre writings we will collectively engage and replicate: short stories, novel excerpts, short prose, and poetry, as well as hybrid work such prose poetry, lyric essays, flash fiction, vignettes, etc. This course is ideal for students seeking a supportive artistic environment to generate and share their writing, benefiting from personalized instructor and peer feedback.

Race is “socially constructed.” By that we mean that, as we go about our every day lives, we are learning and relearning our ideas about what race is and how it affects us. Educational settings are one of the main places where we “learn about race.” We learn about race explicitly through the curriculum, and we learn about race implicitly, through the experiences we have, our relationships with peers and teachers, and how we make sense of it all. This seminar takes a step back to ask: Where do our ideas about the relationship between racial inequality and education come from? What are those ideas? How do those ideas influence the lives of students and communities? By the end of the seminar students will: Understand what it means to say that race is socially constructed; Develop a greater understanding of the relationship between racial inequality and education; Gain experience in participating in rigorous, productive and inclusive discussion about racial inequality, education and society.

An interactive, thought provoking, and hopefully enjoyable class in which we are going to read The True Believer by Eric Hoffer and Address Unknown by Kressman Taylor. We will talk about what forges mass movements and fabricated realities and think about how individuals are at times willing to subsume their personal wills into a group will/dynamic. No previous experience in history is expected

Given the importance of media in children’s lives and the significant amount of time they spend on screens, this seminar introduces the ever-changing field of children’s media (cartoons, animations, etc.) to its participants. The seminar will have an interdisciplinary approach, borrowing ideas from child development, education, and mass media, and incorporating them with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) principles. In our sessions, we will discuss media content, children’s engagement with media, caregivers’ role in their children’s media habits, production techniques/principles, and cultural sensitivity. The materials in this seminar are mostly based on children’s media from the United States.

The course will critically examine the relationship between humans and animals, challenge human exceptionalism/anthropocentrism and promote ethical consideration for animal welfare.

To grow as persuasive public speakers and rhetoricians, students will create compositions that demonstrate and enhance their ability to critically analyze and respond to a variety of sources, as well persuade an audience to connect with their unique vision and voice. To accomplish this, students will engage and demystify the process of composing and performing speeches, and hone qualities of good writing and teamwork. The material of the course will foreground the material often covered in first-year college writing, composition and communication courses.

Social Identity, Belonging, and Healing is a course designed to explore the scientific study of social identity through a psychological lens. In this course, we will explore theories, paradigms, and research developed to understand how psychology has historically investigated social identity while also uncovering how our identities contribute to our experiences of belonging and how to create opportunities for healing. Example topics will include White-centric biases in psychology, possessing multiple minoritized identities, and social justice and impact.

Explore how psychology is presented in TV shows, movies, advertisements, and social media. Analyze how influencers, writers, and clinicians communicate psychological concepts, uncovering hidden messages and nuanced cues in popular culture. Get ready for a dynamic and thought-provoking journey, and emerge with sharper skills in discerning the real from the reel in psychology's portrayal in modern media.

This course explores the philosophical, moral, and societal challenges brought forth by the rise of artificial intelligence. It engages students in critical thinking about the ethical dimensions surrounding the development and application of AI technologies, from biases in algorithms to the implications of using machines to make art. Drawing from the fields of philosophy, computer science, visual arts, sociology, and policy-making, the course offers students an interdisciplinary lens through which to consider one of the 21st century's most pressing challenges. It urges students not only to reflect on AI's implications but also to envision and work towards a future where AI aligns with human values and ethics.

How do we know what babies are thinking when they cannot communicate their thoughts and feelings to us? How do children learn that other people have different beliefs than their own? Across the lifespan, children develop a diverse range of skills: motor, social, cognitive, and more. This two-week introduction to developmental psychology will focus on how this development takes place from infancy to early childhood. In particular, we will examine how infants learn to navigate the physical and social world around them. We will also review various methods used to study this development and consider ways to apply them to our own emerging questions.

How do we understand and prepare for the future? What makes some people good at making predictions? What does the future hold for international affairs? Being able to accurately forecast global trends and events can have many benefits. For individuals, it can inform career decisions, investment choices, and personal planning, allowing them to better navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. For organizations, it can inform strategic planning and decision-making, allowing them to better prepare for and respond to potential future occurrences. For governments, accurate forecasting can be crucial for developing effective policies and strategies at all levels to address a wide range of issues, from economic development to national security. The ability to make clear probabilistic forecasts and keep score on them can help reduce uncertainty and risk by providing a better understanding of the potential outcomes of different actions and policies. That can be particularly important in times of instability, when the possible consequences of decisions may be difficult to predict. This seminar will help give participants the tools and knowledge they need to see into the future. We will delve into some traditional forecasting methods and explore their utility in international relations scholarship and policymaking.

This is an interactive seminar for those with no background in computer science. In the first class, we will discuss the genesis of computers and how they function, and decide whether we think that they are smart or stupid. After that we will alternate taking a problem and interactively solving it as a group at the whiteboard, and then moving into the lab where we each implement the solution with animation. Final problem involves analyzing patient data to help propose a diagnostic for diabetes.

This seminar will focus on how research can better reflect the demographics overrepresented in various cancers and cancer subtypes. We will discuss cancers such as breast, pancreatic, and prostate, and explore how cancer metastasis differs across these groups. Additionally, we will examine ways to more accurately recreate these conditions in a laboratory setting.