Between 1950 and 1980, the United States witnessed a mobilization of radical social movements led by Black, Latinx, Asian American , and Native American communities. In addition to these racial movements, gender and sexuality were themselves having parallel and intersecting calls for equality. The legacy of this activism lives on in popular memory, as names like Malcolm X and the Black Panthers have become iconic – even controversial – in the American mainstream. [click to learn more]

There is no more powerful force in contemporary American culture than celebrity. Fortunes rest upon it. Hope depends upon it. But we barely understand it. What, we ask in this class, makes a celebrity? Is celebrity a kind of self-marketing? That is, can you will yourself to become one? Can you plan a route to celebrity? Or is it bestowed by an audience, given to the famous and the talented by their fans? What kind of power can a celebrity wield? [click to learn more]

What potential does the law hold to bring about transformative social change in today’s society? Relatedly, what strategies and approaches have social movement activists utilized to engage public interest lawyers and the broader legal system?

We will answer these questions through case studies of various 20th and 21st century social movements including the Civil Rights, immigrant rights, LGTBQ+ rights, and Environmental Justice movements. [click to learn more]

Maya Moore. John Carlos. Colin Kaepernick. Billie Jean King. Muhammad Ali. Megan Rapinoe. Francois Pienaar. LeBron James. Some of these names we know. Others have gone less noticed or unacknowledged. All are case studies in leadership in sports and social change.

Refusing to “just shut up and dribble,” more and more athletes are stepping off the court, the field or the pitch to leverage their voices and platforms to push for social change. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered: Why is the (weak) woman almost always saved by a man? Why are we presumed to consider disability and disfigurement “scary”? What character traits define the “monstrous”? Why does the (black) sidekick always die first? In this course, we will explore how horror films reflect the values, mores and fears of a collective unconscious, with a special emphasis on the ways in which racial stereotyping and gender violence are often deployed as horror film tropes. [click to learn more]

Do you enjoy making meaningful art, being creative, and being part of an engaged and caring community? This course will provide an opportunity for students to cultivate a creative practice; to engage in dialogue about the potential for art to be a catalyst for social change, and to build a critical toolbox of resources and experiences to strengthen individual and collaborative art-making. Experienced and novice art makers, musicians, dancers, poets, and multimedia creators will find new ways to channel their creative energies into an Action Plan with community impact. [click to learn more]

What is care? How can and do communities mobilize care as a social intervention, political act, and tool for building intimacy, healing, and hope? Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we care for ourselves and our communities, but caring is not an apolitical or individual act and we must analyze the inherent inequalities and social dimensions of what it means to give and receive care. Employing a feminist mode of inquiry and an engaged anthropology approach, this course requires students to not only ask how they might engage in caring acts with their own communities, but to complete a locally based community project that brings care, in all its multifariousness, to the fore. [click to learn more]

Death is universal. Whether it is burying an early human in a cave or a king deep down in a chamber surrounded by wonderful things, throughout history human interactions with the dead have been extremely diverse.

In order to understand what this diversity can tell us about life and death in ancient societies, we will survey major archaeological discoveries, burials from the ancient world including Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, China, and Ancient Americas. [click to learn more]

Do you know what gender, sexuality, and queerness mean? These three concepts are increasingly important, not only for analysis in a wide variety of academic disciplines but also for how these constructs impact lived experiences. For example, in your future undergraduate studies, you will find discussions and applications of these concepts in not only the Humanities (literature, philosophy, history, queer theory), social sciences (such as anthropology, sociology, political science), but also life sciences (such as biology and public health). [click to learn more]

Have you always wondered what it means to be a feminist? Then this is the course for you; a basic introduction to feminist theories and practices both historically and contemporarily in the United States. Reading and discussing foundational texts, engaging with depictions of feminists (both in popular culture and other forms), and exploring feminist activism will introduce students to the intersection of theory, representation, and practice.

This course will not only familiarize students with the foundational works of feminist theory, but also equip them with the tools to think critically about key issues such as the public/private divide, sex/gender debate, gendered labor, reproductive rights, feminist political economy, and queer theory. [click to learn more]

Global Health: Inequality, Culture, and Human Well-being Around the World examines human health in a global perspective. Using ideas and methods from anthropology, students will explore how inequality and culture intersect to produce the world’s predominant health problems. Further, students will look critically at efforts to address the global burden of disease, using multiple case studies to help them develop more politically and culturally constructive solutions.

This course explores the field of global health, and particularly the serious health problems facing populations in developing countries. [click to learn more]

This course will be a people-centered investigation of affliction and healing. We will ask: How do social and political processes determine disease and health outcomes in individuals and communities? What are the role of medical technologies and public interventions in health improvements? How do we account for the economic determinants of health disparities? And how do these disparities affect the work of health care professionals? [click to learn more]

The cultural and social diversity of the world around us is astounding. Anthropology is a discipline that examines different aspects of this diversity and allows one to better understand the complexity of social phenomena. This course introduces students to the most important concepts and approaches used by anthropologists in understanding socio-cultural variation. The course encourages students to learn about different cultures and to apply their knowledge to make sense of their own society.

Studies of different cultures show that notions of gender, race, affluence, kinship, marriage, religion and systems of symbolic expression (language and art) vary significantly from one society to another. [click to learn more]

This course is designed for students who like to understand how things work on the molecular level. There are thousands of molecular tools available to scientists, but all are essentially variations on a few basic themes. The goal of this course is to develop mastery of the principles behind essential molecular techniques in genetics and immunology. Within this paradigm, emphasis will be placed on addressing scientific questions, both pure and practical. [click to learn more]

Life is complicated underwater. How do you disappear on a bustling coral reef, “see” in a muddy river bottom, raise offspring in a lake full of predators, or find food at the bottom of the ocean? Only one group of vertebrates has solved all of these questions: fish. Fish have adapted to every known underwater habitat, from the deserts of Death Valley to the ice shelves of Antarctica. Fish can fly, walk on land, play dead, glow in the dark, sense heartbeats buried in the sand, and communicate with hidden messages. [click to learn more]

This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) class that will provide students with the chance to propose, design, and conduct their own research projects, working on topics and seeking answers to questions that are currently unknown to science.

Antibiotic resistance - the ability for bacteria to mutate and evolve, and thus cause antibiotics to fail - is a major global health threat. Pharmaceutical companies are less likely to fund research and development of new antibiotics due to their relative low profitability. [click to learn more]

Groundbreaking advancements in our understanding of human health and disease could not be accomplished without the help of some interesting creatures. In this laboratory-intensive course we will work with several model organisms as well as mammalian cells grown in culture. Students will gain practical laboratory experience in the context of published biomedical research.

Medicine does not begin with clinical trials. [click to learn more]

The answers to problems can be found in life all around us! Nature is imaginative, adaptable, and efficient – qualities which inspire today’s engineers and scientists. 

Biomimicry is the innovation of learning from nature’s sustainable solutions. It is a growing, exciting field of science and engineering that studies nature as a model and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems. [click to learn more]

Black and Brown people in the US have shorter life expectancies, live with more physical and mental illness, and have more disability than White people. This course will help students connect health inequities to systematic racism in our society and its institutions. 

Using a public health lens, this online course will feature facilitated virtual discussions, readings, and other content around structural racism and the health of individuals in society. [click to learn more]

Groundbreaking advancements in our understanding of human health and disease could not be accomplished without the help of some interesting creatures. In this course we will explore the usage and scientific contributions of several model organisms. Students will have the opportunity to learn about both common and lesser-known model organisms and understand how they have allowed incredible discoveries in biomedical research. 

Medicine does not begin with clinical trials. [click to learn more]

Have you ever questioned why certain types of cancer are so difficult to treat or how basic science discoveries translate into clinical practice? As advances over the last decade have increased the awareness and knowledge of cancer, today's discussions about this disease have changed.  

It is now recognized that cancer is not a single disease, but a collection of disorders with many manifestations that affect every tissue in the human body representing a challenging biomedical puzzle. [click to learn more]

This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) class that will provide students with the chance to propose, design, and conduct their own research projects, working on topics and seeking answers to questions that are currently unknown to science.

Scientists have been studying cause and effect for centuries. Performing experiments helps us determine the answers to basic questions like "What happens if I water plants with salt water?" to more complicated questions like "Will drug A treat cancer better than drug B?" In this course, we will be asking the question "What happens to the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans if we alter a particular gene?"

This virtual lab course will provide students the opportunity to develop their own hypothesis-driven research question with a focus on genetics and molecular biology, performing research that no one knows the answer to yet. [click to learn more]

Viruses can mutate in the blink of an eye. Virus evolution is why we need a new flu shot every year, and how new viruses such as Zika and Ebola seem to appear without forewarning. Germs can outmaneuver and genetically mutate to defeat even our best medicines, so how can we defeat them? Will there be a completely new never-before-seen virus like SARS-CoV-2 or will a well-known killer resurface, such as rabies, smallpox or polio or perhaps something man-made using synthetic biology? [click to learn more]

After months of specific training, you are at the Starting line of your big race. Before your body is even in motion, your Autonomic Nervous System takes charge commanding the necessary changes. Your fuel tanks are full and triggered for use. From your warm up, blood is already shunted to specific muscles for Oxygen delivery. The Race Starts, the heart beat jumps up and blood is pumped at a greater volume and speed. Blood is diverted to the skin to ward off excess heat and stabilize temperature. [click to learn more]

Students enrolled in this course will become disease investigators. How are diseases spread, investigated, and controlled? Who should be involved in the day to day decision making for the response? Students will look at all social and environmental factors that influence how we respond to outbreaks. The main objective is for students to understand the basics of infectious disease epidemiology, dissemination of information critical information, and to identify all potential barriers for success in containing the outbreak.

This course will cover multiple outbreak investigations- HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Pandemic Flu, and Food-Borne Illness. [click to learn more]

DNA technology can help solve crimes, identify an emerging disease, and distinguish among common ancestors. An important key component in all life forms, DNA is the “building block of life.”

Advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to an explosion in our understanding of DNA and how it impacts us, both as individuals and as a society. This course will introduce the concepts and techniques associated with DNA science and address some of its diverse applications including medicine, forensics, evolution, and genetically modified organisms.

Students will explore current topics and cutting-edge techniques associated with these applications, and experience the process of scientific inquiry first-hand, from understanding what it means to be a scientist to practicing the analysis and interpretation of experimental results. [click to learn more]

This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) class that will provide students with the chance to propose, design and conduct their own research projects, working on topics and seeking answers to questions that are currently unknown to science.

Experimental pathology is a highly collaborative discipline that seeks to uncover the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie human disease. [click to learn more]

What makes a lemon sour, and our coffee bitter? How do giant sinkholes appear? And how did they get that red stain out of your white shirt? Throughout the day, acid/base chemistry drives many events, with a variety of results. In this 2-week course, we will aim to understand the principles behind acid/base chemistry, from technical know-how to conceptualization and questioning, in order to understand how and why these common events happen.

This asynchronous/synchronous modular course will begin with a brief discussion of the origins of acid/base reactions (how they were originally described), and move into Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, and Lewis acid/base theories. [click to learn more]

What makes an expert witness an expert? What would the perfect crime look like? These are but a couple of the many questions we will explore during this course. Forensic science is an exciting field that combines scientific principles from many different science disciplines with technology and math resulting in new, sometimes surprising outcomes!

This integrated course will focus on critical thinking and lab skills, as well as problem-solving techniques, to learn more about the fascinating field of forensics. [click to learn more]

Life revolves around reproduction. From birds to bees, all organisms are on a mission to spread their genes from one generation to the next. But how does it work? Did you know some sperm are the shape of fish hooks? Did you know fertilization occurs in the fallopian tubes? How is human reproduction similar to fruit flies? What can we learn from studying how fish mate? In this course you will learn how biologists use different organisms to advance our understanding of human reproduction. [click to learn more]

Genetics has come a long way since the time of Mendel. This course will provide a broad overview of modern molecular genetics, including recent advances in the field. We will explore both Mendelian and non-Mendelian biological systems, and discuss the ways in which genetic systems can defy the "Central Dogma" of molecular biology (genes encode RNAs encode proteins). This course will emphasize both fundamental concepts and cutting-edge topics in genetics.

We will explore the different types of mutations, how they interact, and how they can be used for biomedical research. [click to learn more]

The viral world we live in is constantly shifting and is not only around us, but embedded in our very DNA. We ingest billions of viral particles every day and viruses infect every living thing on this planet. They have infiltrated our host genome, both to our benefit and detriment. This course will provide a comprehensive analysis of viral infection from transmission to the host down to the molecular and cell biological features of the virus life cycle. [click to learn more]

Genomes are thrilling. Genomic data and its interpretation span many fields: a fusion of biology, history, geography, mathematics, religion, cultural anthropology - and more. Genomes are surprising: our world and in particular, humans have had a profound effect on genomes, a product of what we have done in the past. They are immensely informative and provide a mirror to life, describing: you as an individual, you as part of your family, your populations, and you as the latest result of dynamic evolution, as well as for every creature of every species. [click to learn more]

Understanding how pathogens are transmitted, lead to illness, and how they can be controlled or cured is the cornerstone of medical science. We will explore a variety of pathogenic organisms by examining their life cycle, transmission from host to host, and why some pathogens result in to epidemics. Students will discover not only the treatment of epidemic disease, but also the molecular mechanisms behind why each treatment works.

Specific topics covered include vaccine development, epidemic and pandemic pathogens (Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Black Plague, Smallpox and more), diagnostic laboratory techniques, as well as an introduction to basic microbiological sciences. [click to learn more]

Topics to be covered in this laboratory intensive course include the structure and function of biomolecules such as proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, and DNA, as well as the structure and function of cellular components. In the laboratory, students will carry out several introductory and advanced experimental techniques utilizing both DNA and proteins. Experiments will include gel electrophoresis, bacterial transformation, and various applications of the polymerase chain reaction. [click to learn more]

The COVID-19 global pandemic tracks the fault lines of inequality—and this is not by accident. Nor is it coincidence that the pandemic has fueled the Movement for Black Lives with solidarity from all corners of the globe. The correlation between infections and racial and economic inequalities has played out time and time again throughout history, as TB, HIV, Ebola, and cholera have shown. Far from being an equalizer, COVID-19 has amplified pre-existing structural inequities tied to race, class and geography which increase risk for disease and are associated with decreased access to the health care in the US and globally. [click to learn more]

There's a lot of controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells, but did you know that there are many other types of stem cells in your body? Some are already being used to treat patients while countless others are in clinical trials. In this course, you'll achieve a foundational knowledge of what stem cells are, what they do, and their importance to research and medicine. Discover how stem cells allow a single fertilized egg to develop into a complex human being and how their power is being utilized in areas ranging from injury and disease treatments, to cosmetic applications and even targeted cancer therapies.

Stem cells have the remarkable ability to become any one of the 200+ cell types found in adult humans. [click to learn more]

This course will explore the big killers of mankind. Students will gain a better understanding of the history of disease and the biological reasons diseases occur.

In examining the major diseases that afflict man, we will explore cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, like Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases, and infectious disease, like HIV and the flu. We will discuss the historical background, incidence, and identification of each disease. [click to learn more]

What would it have been like to take a walk in the woods 100 million years ago? What will it be like 100 years in the future? From pristine tropical cloud forests to urban street trees, forests play an outsized role in many global processes. This course will explore these critically important ecosystems and the species that comprise them, while building skills that are essential to thriving in a college classroom and beyond, including basic coding, data visualization, and interpreting primary scientific literature. [click to learn more]

Tropical marine environments are as fascinating biologically as they are thrilling to see in person — colorful coral reefs, dense mangrove forests, seagrass beds with manatees, open ocean large pelagics. In lectures, activities, and virtual field trips, we will dive into the diversity of nature in the tropical oceans and understand how these ecosystems develop, evolve, and persist around the world. We will explore adaptations of tropical marine animals to their environment and the ecological forces that affect their populations. [click to learn more]

What does the world look like through the eyes of a lion? How about a mouse? a fish? or a fly? All animals perceive the world differently, but share the same goal: to survive and reproduce. The main objectives of this course are to provide an introduction to neuroscience, animal behavior, and the link between them. What do the eyes of an animal tell you about how it interacts with the environment? or where it falls in the food chain? [click to learn more]

We hear a lot about how our brains allow us sense the world and think, but have you ever wondered what else is in the brain besides neurons? Our nervous system drives our thoughts and decisions and makes us who we are, but its function is both demanding of energy and less resilient than the rest of our body. Both of these challenges of the nervous system are addressed by a complex network of blood vessels with special properties to support and protect our nervous systems. [click to learn more]

The study of the brain as a biological structure is very different from the study of any other organ in the body. The cells that make up the brain, neurons, share many of the same fundamental characteristics with other cells of the body (exocytosis, manufacturing of proteins, metabolism, growth). However, the functions of these cells result in products that are quite unique such as coordinated movements, visual perception, learning and memory, emotion, appreciation for music, and intelligence.

Many have described the brain as being greater than the sum of its parts. [click to learn more]

2020 has changed our life and behavior significantly. With extended stay-at-home period, more people are cooking their meals in-house and thus, pay more attention to their diets. Do you drink more sugary drinks at home and feel sluggish? Or do you eat more fruits and vegetables in your diet to prepare you for extended period of working in front of the computer? Or do you get more take-outs from your favorite Chinese restaurants and sometimes feel lightheaded after the heavy meal? [click to learn more]

What happens in your brain when you decide to buy a lottery ticket or go on a date with someone? What about when you spend hundreds of dollars on an expensive gadget that you stop using after a few months, or when you decide to say something that you should have known would be embarrassing? Are economic decisions and decisions in general the result of a messy fight between a 'rational' part of your brain and an 'irrational' one, or is decision-making all the result of one underlying and possibly unconscious mechanism?

This course is designed to give a tour of the brain in its capacity as the 'organ of economics', exploring the neuroscience of decision-making and its implications for how we think about free will, value, and rationality. [click to learn more]

Our brains are the driving force of our actions, but our environment and past decisions can greatly shape our brains. In this lecture and project based course we will examine the bidirectional link between brain and behavior. We will take advantage of innate and learned behaviors to analyze and ultimately attempt to understand how our past experiences can change our brains, leading us to different actions in the future.

This lecture and project based course, will help students acquire an understanding of scientific research and the methods used in scientific discoveries. [click to learn more]

The brain has an incredible ability to acquire and store information about the world to guide future behavior. These memories collected across our lifetime make each one of us unique. But how are these memories made and where are they store? Why are some memories amazingly vivid? Are you sure you can trust them?

This course will combine insights from psychology and neuroscience research to explore the current understanding of the neurobiology of learning and memory: from molecules to behavior. [click to learn more]

The human brain has more than 85 billion nerve cells, also known as neurons. Ever since the original description of the neuron by Santiago Ramón y Cajal in the 19th century, neuroscientists have known that understanding the neuron is key toward understanding how the brain works.

This course is an introduction to neuroscience in which we will examine the inner workings of the neuron: how it computes information, generates signals, communicates with others, and allows us to learn about and experience our world. [click to learn more]

Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and networks of nerve cells, or neurons, that travel throughout the body. Although the field of neuroscience is relatively new, being recognized only in recent decades as a formal discipline, it is growing and expanding at a very rapid rate. The rapid growth of neuroscience and the pace of biomedical research make understanding neuroscience valuable for any student interested in biomedical or health sciences. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered about the difference between recreational and medicinal usage of psychoactive drugs (drugs that alter mood and behavior)? Are there basic differences in the action of psychoactive drugs when they are taken for recreational versus medicinal purposes? And how does society decide how to categorize psychoactive drugs: which ones to make legal and which illegal? Are government policies concerning psychoactive drugs enacted in a rational manner?

In this course, you will learn about these issues, as well as basic biological mechanisms of action of psychoactive drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, marijuana, nicotine and caffeine. [click to learn more]

Nurture or Nature? What causes mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, and neurodegenerative disorders? Explore this question and dive into psychopathology with a practicing mental health therapist and a Ph.D. biologist.

In the first week, we will explore the cellular, chemical, hormonal, anatomical and physiological components the of brain that regulate cognition, emotions, and behaviors. [click to learn more]

In this course, we will unveil the chemical “magic” that dictates when and how the human body behaves, in its everyday grind to keep us alive. Every biological process in our body, from the most basic function of glucose utilization to complicated pathways of drug metabolism, heavily depends on basic concepts of chemistry in order to function. Without understanding the chemical basis of these interactions, it is almost impossible to fathom the incredibly diverse processes that are constantly occurring in the body.

This course provides us an introduction to the chemical and cellular basis of biochemistry. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered what happens to the fish after an oil spill? Or maybe you’ve heard stories on the news about pollution and wondered how it got to where it is? In today’s world, understanding pollution’s impact on the environment is important for keeping both human and animal communities healthy. Environmental contaminants from the world’s past and present industries can have important effects on humans and animals that are challenging to understand and solve. [click to learn more]

Molecular biology and biochemistry are two closely related fields where the properties of key biological molecules, such as proteins and DNA, and how they interact with each other in living organisms are studied. Research in these areas has become so successful at explaining living processes that it is used in almost all areas of the life sciences from medicine to the study of plants. Researchers play an integral role in the discovery of drugs that help prevent and cure diseases. [click to learn more]

This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) class that will provide students with the chance to propose, design, and conduct their own research projects, working on topics and seeking answers to questions that are currently unknown to science.

Ever hear of nanotechnology? The science of small things? Think of designing and making materials a billion times smaller than the diameter of one piece of the hair on your head ! [click to learn more]

Organic and biochemistry are the foundation sciences for the life sciences discipline. Students hoping to have a medical career need to have a strong foundation in chemistry. The MCAT exams given to college students hoping to enter medical, dental, or veterinary schools contain a number of sections devoted to general, organic, and biochemistry.

The course begins with the study of organic compounds and concentrates on their structure and reactions. [click to learn more]

Gods. Heroes. Beasts. Creation. Annihilation. Why did so many societies create fantastical stories about the world around them? This Mythology course will closely examine these myths in order to gain a better understanding of both the past and present-day societies. Digging beyond the surface of the stories themselves, we will investigate why these stories were told, how they have influenced history, and the impact they have had -and continue to have- on modern-day social constructions of self and society.

This course will cover myths from around the world including ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica, India, and more. [click to learn more]

The vast majority of courses taught on ancient history and/or religion focus on the presentation of facts in a lecture style. This course will do the opposite. In focusing on the games of the ancient world, the majority of which deal with the overarching theme of the afterlife, students will learn the history and religion of these cultures in a novel way. At the conclusion of each section, the students themselves will participate in the games which have been discussed. [click to learn more]

One of the most influential and fastest growing fields of research is artificial intelligence. This technology has dramatically changed the job market, communication, search engines, and entertainment. The goal of this course is to take an interdisciplinary approach to introduce students to artificial intelligence. The structure of this course will be to look at how neuroscience has inspired artificial intelligence models and then translate these ideas into mathematical models that can be programmed into a computer.

As an introduction to the course, we’ll learn about the connectome project which has been ongoing project to map the structural connectivity of the neurons in the brain. [click to learn more]

The field of data science will continue to impact every industry in the 21st century: health, government, transportation, energy, technology, weather, politics, and many more. A hands-on, gentle introduction to data science is critical for today's students to impact tomorrow's workforce. While data science is an important skill, it's complexity will soon lead to the modification of the phrase "Well, it's not rocket science" to "Well, at least it's not data science".

This course will focus on the nation's capitol, Washington DC, to highlight the importance of data science skills as they relate to every sector in the government: weather and environment, energy, defense, transportation, health, economy, and others. [click to learn more]

Bots, trolls, fake news, privacy, freedom of information, government transparency, liberty, autonomy, artificial intelligence, big data, data analytics, encryption, human rights, intellectual property, open source, corporate social responsibility, business ethics, averting cyberwar, humanitarian law, white, gray, and black hat hacking, fair information practices, behavioral economics, emerging issues, and international and global concerns.

This timely, topical course offers a comprehensive examination of ethical questions in cybersecurity. [click to learn more]

Since the ancient world, humans have been captivated with the idea of "hidden writing". From decoding the Enigma during World War II to the World Wide Web, cryptography has shaped the world as we know it today. We see a wide range of "secure" applications everyday, from one-time passwords and two-factor authentication to the encrypted hard disks and even WhatsApp messages. However, security breaches continue to occur, compromising our private data. [click to learn more]

This course is designed to introduce future STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students to computational mathematics, parallel computing techniques commonly used in scientific computing along with large-scale 3D data analysis methods, and software for numerical simulation.

This course is project-oriented and aims to develop students' interest in STEM, understand the basic concepts of numerical analysis, parallel computing, and data visualization, and develop students' ability to apply computational mathematics to analyze and solve practical scientific and engineering problems arising in CDS&E (Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering). [click to learn more]

We will use the statistical programming language R to solve problems and analyze and graphically represent data. R is a popular programming language for statistics and data mining, and is a great first language to learn.

Advances in computing power have enabled scientists to amass huge amounts of data on everything from genetics to climate science, but there is a need for someone to make sense of this data. In this class we will learn how to perform basic statistical analysis and visualize data using the statistical software R. [click to learn more]

An Introduction to Game Theory is a course in behavioral economics. Game theory is the systematic study of strategic interactions that are present everywhere, not only in economics but in politics, sociology, law, computer science, and sports.

The main goal of the course is to introduce students to the basic concepts and tools of game theory and to apply these tools to real-life situations. Students will learn the fundamentals of game theory starting with basic terms such as strategies, payoffs, and information, and then will progress from the analysis of simple to more complex games. [click to learn more]

Game theory is used to understand human behavior. The course will start with the study of the basic concepts of game theory and then will move on to the study of decision making by real people who are not perfectly rational. The course will help students understand how people really interact with each other in daily life, using both economic theory and experiments in economics.

Standard game theory asks how rational geniuses play games, but has ignored, until recently, how average people with emotions and limited foresight actually play games. [click to learn more]

We are exposed to economic data and statistical analysis wherever we go: at the supermarket through prices and quantities of goods, at school through relative performance and GPAs, and in advertising through comparisons between the new iPhone 6 and a competitor’s model. Understanding the message is not an issue, but being a critical user of that information requires a deeper understanding of statistical methods.

Econometrics: Statistical Tools to Understand Economic Data is a four-week core course that introduces students to crucial statistical concepts and methods to analyze and interpret data. [click to learn more]

This class offers a basic overview of economic theory for the average consumer. It is an informed-citizens guide to the economics of everyday life. The goal is to give the student a working knowledge of basic economic theory and economic institutions. Students will become familiar with how markets function.

The main objective of this course is to examine how economic concepts impact people's day to day lives. Students develop a basic understanding of how people need to make choices due to the existence of limited resources along with unlimited wants.

Topics include gross domestic product, economic growth, and business cycle, unemployment and inflation, Monetary and fiscal policy, and law of supply and demand.

This course requires a high level of commitment from students. [click to learn more]

“Our economy is the result of millions of decisions we all make every day about producing, earning, saving, investing, and spending.” -- Dwight David Eisenhower Students should think of this core course as An Intelligent Citizen’s Guide to Macroeconomics that provides them with a better understanding of many important public policy issues, plus insight into some of today’s heated debates. Macroeconomics focuses on concepts that often times show up in the daily news: inflation, unemployment, economic growth, recessions, exchange rates, interest rates, budget deficits, and trade deficits. [click to learn more]

This course is focused on giving students an introduction to the startup environment. We will look at the entrepreneurial process while continually developing the skills needed to succeed as a "thought leader" in a constantly evolving atmosphere. This class requires a large amount of self-direction and hands-on participation. We will explore different aspects of innovation, asking questions like, what makes good innovation? [click to learn more]

Have you ever made a regrettable purchase and then found yourself rationalizing your decision? Have you witnessed family members spending money in ways that don’t seem to be in their best financial interest? Behavioral finance combines behavioral and cognitive psychological theory with traditional economics to provide explanations for why people make irrational financial decisions.

The main goal of the course is to provide students with a broad idea of the ways in which cognitive errors such as psychological bias, influence our financial decisions. [click to learn more]

This course explores the vast inequalities in well-being and economic development across the world and discusses various explanations for why certain places and populations are richer than others.

The richest countries in the world today are as much as 60 times more prosperous in terms of incomes per capita than their poorest counterparts. Other living standards vary enormously as well: in 35 countries, less than half of the population has access to electricity (in 2019!); and life expectancy is below 50 in some of the poorest areas. [click to learn more]

This is a core course in introductory microeconomic theory. Microeconomics as a field studies how individuals and firms make consumption and production decisions, respectively, and how these decisions determine the allocation of scarce resources in a market. As such, it provides a formal framework to study policy-relevant questions like: Does a subsidy unambiguously increase the profit of a struggling firm? Or even questions like: Should a pizza restaurant start a price war with its competitor down the block? [click to learn more]

Analysts predict that in 2020, the U.S. government will spend over $1 trillion U.S. dollars more than it brings in in revenue (i.e., that the deficit for that year will exceed $1 trillion) and that the total the U.S. government owes to public and private lenders, both within the U.S. and abroad, will rise from over $21 trillion today to over $33 trillion by 2028. Internationally, the sum of all government debts already exceeds $63 trillion U.S. [click to learn more]

In 1980, three television stations provided entertainment, telephones were stuck to walls, computers took up entire rooms, and people found facts in books and consumer goods in a store. Today, the Internet of things (IoT) can be used to see inside your Samsung refrigerator from the grocery store, allowing you to purchase only what you need. Amazon’s Alexa can order your dinner. Annual mobile payments now exceed trillions worldwide and are more than $5 trillion in China alone. [click to learn more]

Pyramids! Hieroglyphs! Cats! This is a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating world of Egyptology, a complete crash-course in the study of ancient Egypt.

This course will guide students through some of the main topics of Egyptological research, including Egyptian religion, history, literature, art and archaeology, daily life, women's lives, hieroglyphs and the practice of collecting Egyptian objects in museums, providing a complete foundation to any further study of ancient Egypt. [click to learn more]

No ancient world monument is more iconic than the Egyptian pyramids of Giza. Have you ever wondered why Egyptian pharaohs chose to build their tombs as pyramids? What does the interior of a pyramid look like? Are there any secret chambers still awaiting discovery under the Great Sphinx?

In this course, we will shed light on famous pyramid mysteries and differentiate modern myths from the truth. Explore 3D reconstructions of ancient pyramid towns, join a real archaeological excavation in Giza for a day, and discover what was like to live by the pyramids in 2500 BCE without leaving your home! [click to learn more]

Would you like to learn one of the oldest attested languages in the world in an easy and engaging way? What do the birds, eyes, and other symbols carved on 4000 years old tomb and temple walls mean? In this course, you will study the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic script and the language that was used by the pharaohs in their everyday life. Learn fascinating facts about the African civilization that set the foundations of our modern world while reading their ancient texts by yourself and in cooperation with your peers!

This class is an introduction to the classical stage of the ancient Egyptian language known as Middle Egyptian. [click to learn more]

One of the most pressing issues of modern times is how we will satisfy our future energy needs and what influence this might have on global warming. This course pursues developing intuitive insights into the benefits and limitations of various approaches to energy generation, and how to differentiate between hype, scientific analysis, and political interference. This course will provide a strong foundation for anyone interested in pursuing energy studies and their connection to environmental impact and human nature.

The course will examine the advances made since the advent of the steam engine by people who increasingly exploited energy sources to do work for them, especially in manufacturing and transportation. [click to learn more]

Are you passionate about innovative approaches to improving human health? Biomedical engineers apply principles of biology, medicine, and science, along with problem-solving skills and critical thinking, to a broad spectrum of problems, from designing regenerative medicine and new methods of drug delivery to micro-devices and gene therapy.

In this course students will explore how the field of biomedical engineering applies math and science fundamentals to the development of replacement tissues, organs, and devices. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered how pacemakers are made, or how cartilage is grown for joint repair? In this course, you will learn how biomedical engineers, specialists in combining the principles of human biology and engineering, develop devices and tissue-engineered technologies that improve, rehabilitate, and even save lives!

The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to biomedical engineering analysis, specifically relating to device design and tissue engineering approaches. [click to learn more]

This course introduces students to the wide world of fluid mechanics, an area that covers vast scientific fields such as aerospace engineering, bacteria locomotion, and combustion dynamics, and which is fundamental for flight, rocketry, swimming, bio-locomotion, and countless other topics in engineering. We will focus on the physics and engineering of fluids and visualize core concepts such as pressure and vortexes through hands-on experiments and demonstrations. [click to learn more]

This course is a two-week long introduction to the basics of Computer Aided Design (CAD). CAD software will be used to help you create solutions for engineering design challenges presented in this course.

Engineering has changed tremendously in the past few decades. Some of the most notable changes can be found in how computers are used by engineers to quickly develop and communicate ideas. Recent advances in the technology of computers and software have made using Computer Aided Design (CAD) central to the art of Engineering. [click to learn more]

Are you considering a career in engineering? Are you fascinated by what engineers do? In this course, high school students will be given the opportunity to experience engineering and design first hand. Students will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of the engineering design process, a grasp of the various fields of engineering, and an appreciation of the far-reaching impacts of engineering.

A major focus of this class will be the engineering design process. [click to learn more]

Scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, and emerging technologies have a major impact on our everyday lives in the 21st century. They provide new insight into our complex world and address a range of global needs and problems. Few pre-college students are exposed to cutting edge research that will likely lead to the future of science, technology and medicine. In this course, students will learn about some of these emerging topics: epigenetics, tissue engineering, cloning, genetic engineering, stem cell research, and medical devices. [click to learn more]

Matlab is a widely used computer programming system. This course will provide you with the opportunity to learn Matlab programming as applied to a 2-dimensional game that incorporates the principles of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Namely, you will simulate a robot game called Last Rover Roving (LRR). You will learn about the Matlab editor, and its single step debugging features. The difference between Matlab scripts and functions will be explained. [click to learn more]

What do you think will be the greatest, coolest invention of this century? Many of the greatest scientists and technologists believe that this will be in the field of Materials research: "of new materials that have amazing properties,” and what’s more, “are capable of changing themselves to suit their requirements.” Though we know of an amazing array of materials, there are only four basic ones--Polymers, Ceramics, Metals, and Composites. [click to learn more]

Are you interested in learning more about the materials that surround our everyday lives? How might newly developed, advanced materials positively impact society?

In this course, you will explore the mathematical and scientific fundamentals behind the field of materials science and engineering. You will explore the current state of the art in engineering design as you test and formulate biomaterials, nanomaterials, and other advanced materials for a wide range of materials science applications.

Time commitment: Your course will open on a Monday, two days in advance of the Wednesday course start date to give you time to get to know Canvas (Brown's learning management system), review course expectations and strategies for your success, learn about your instructor, and help us to learn a bit about you. [click to learn more]

Mechatronics involves the design of mechanical devices with moving parts which require electrical components and programming for intelligence.

The class will start with Ready Rovers (RRs) that—through Arduino microprocessors--control the speed and direction of two stepping motors connected to planetary gears and then, by chain sprockets, to two wheels. A third contact with the floor is made by a ball transport at the back of each rover, allowing for “tank steering.”

Students will organize themselves into teams of three, to account for the three aspects of mechatronics: mechanical, electrical and programming.

The team programmer will learn how to modify C-like default code for improved performance, initially using a RR. [click to learn more]

In this course, you will explore some of the science, math, and technology that is used to extract energy from renewable resources.

The demand for energy is expected to grow 30% by 2040. Today, most of the energy harvested originates from non-renewable sources. What role can engineers play in developing renewable energy technology to meet the anticipated demand? What does it take to become an engineer in this field? [click to learn more]

She speaks in spells and incantations, is occasionally seen riding a broomstick or stirring a cauldron, and curses enemies and unlucky strangers alike. She is typically portrayed as white - though also sometimes green - and lives apart from society, either alone in the woods or among a coven of her own. Many in Western society know her by the name “witch.” This course explores depictions of witches and witchcraft in popular culture, which have been maintained in Anglo-American and European cultural imaginaries for hundreds of years. [click to learn more]

How will we know when the end of the world has arrived? How do we know it hasn't already happened? And how might our racial or gender identities shape our relationship to it? In this course we’ll unpack movies, short stories, and current events in order to disrupt popular notions of what an “apocalypse” looks like. We’ll also use our readings to discuss why apocalyptic predictions are so popular across time and space and theorize about what, if anything, we should do about the next one.

Classes will be discussion-based and use a multimedia-based approach to "readings", which will include fiction, theory, film and visual art. [click to learn more]

“Abandon the cultural myth that all female friendships must be bitchy, toxic, or competitive. This myth is like heels and purses—pretty but designed to SLOW women down.” This provocative line from Roxane Gay’s “13 Rules for Female Friendship” begs the question: Why do women make the best of friends, but the worst of enemies?

In this course, we will look at how female friendship is represented in film, fiction, and television to challenge the cultural myth that women cannot be friends, instead positing friendship between women as a source of solidarity. [click to learn more]

Originally, fairy tales were not intended for children, but throughout much of their history, they were told among adult audiences for entertainment and instruction. During Romanticism, fairy tales were understood as tales sending a strong moral and didactic message. The basic structure and narrative conventions are provided through magic, supernatural elements, and happy endings.

This course introduces students to the original versions of fairy tales and makes them aware that the tradition continues to present times. [click to learn more]

Is comedy possible in the twenty-first century? Ours is an age of disappointment, plagued by unprecedented violence and crisis, and the familiar tools of satire (insult and shame chief among them) have all but lost their edge in the face of daily life. But does this necessarily mean that ours is a tragic age? This course will give us an opportunity to investigate the conditions that allow a tragic situation to become a comedic one.

We will consider a body of work that finds in comedy a form uniquely capable of responding to the traumas of life in the twenty-first century. [click to learn more]

Every day, we encounter more language that can’t be page-turned away: advertisements spring on us with hidden or disabled “close” buttons, posts on social media allure collaboration, and notifications strut unasked onto our phone screens. As this crowd of digitized texts grows thicker about our heads, we relearn to read in accordance with its idiosyncrasies. Mobile text becomes more legible than static text. And so it is urgent that literature, too, moves.

This course will teach students to code mobile texts in the form of web-based creative works. [click to learn more]

Experimental Writing is an invitation for students to challenge what they have been taught about writing. The course asks: How radical can we get? and, What about audience--is experimental writing by definition hostile to readers, or can we experiment toward greater inclusiveness? Perhaps counter-intuitively, Experimental Writing promotes the thoughtful consideration of all writing techniques--radical and conventional.

Our course will introduce students to contemporary American writing, as well as to the creative writing workshop format. [click to learn more]

What can the grotesque, monstrous, and even alien creatures found lurking in an extraordinary range of literature across many centuries reveal about the different ways humans have imagined what it means to be human? How have we constructed the conceptual boundary between what we qualify as human and what we categorize as robotic, animal, android, or alien? What, in the end, makes the human “human”?

Join me as we dive into these and related questions in a distinctive way through the gamified structure of this course. [click to learn more]

What kind of stories can we tell when we give up fiction? How can we write about ourselves and the world and not be dull?

By reading as writers, identifying (and experimenting with) genre, and by writing, we will explore several varieties of the creative nonfiction essay, including memoir, lyric essay, and travel writing. Readings are meant to illustrate and to inspire, but as much as we may admire them, we will test all that we read to see what is useful and what’s otherwise. [click to learn more]

The overarching theme is how to write stories that make a reader think and make a reader feel. We are surrounded by stories—they're like air—yet writing compelling stories requires work, craft, technique, and a hearty dose of bravery. The objectives of this course are to give students the toolkit they need to write effective and moving fictions, to be more nuanced thinkers, and to be more creatively fearless.

Students will dive into the elements of fiction writing: scene, character, dialogue, setting, language, time, and structure, for example. [click to learn more]

This course considers how law and literature contribute jointly to our sense of justice and our understanding of injustice. Through novels, poetry, film, legal writings, and legal opinions, we examine how law and literature create interrelated narratives that shed light on issues like identity, sexuality, injury, policing, speech, and silence. Together, we will work to discover connections between interpretation and world-making—that is, between how we read, respond to, understand a story or event, and how this understanding generates our sense of justice and our ideas of responsibility. [click to learn more]

America has been described as a melting pot and a nation of immigrants, but what does it mean to be an “American” and to claim an “American” identity? This course will introduce students to the study of personal and group identity in U.S. literature and culture. Crossing multiple genres, historical periods, and cultural forms (fiction, film, TV), we will examine a diverse range of texts by African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino, Jewish American, and Native American writers. [click to learn more]

What do we talk about when we talk about love? We will see how writers have addressed this question from Shakespeare's day to the present. Writers are likely to include Shakespeare, Austen, Eliot, Flaubert, Graham Greene, Zora Neale Hurston, and Annie Proulx. By reading, discussing, and writing about love, students will become better able to understand and argue about vastly different concepts of love; to assess the virtues and shortcomings of those concepts; to express what might otherwise seem inexpressible; to develop a more nuanced understanding of emotional life; and, ultimately, to experience love in a more reflective and rewarding way.

What makes a monster? Is it their strange-looking body or is it the unfamiliar world they represent? In this course, we make sense of the monstrous in literature, film, and graphic novels by seeing how “the monster” reflects society’s anxieties about the unknown, the threatening, and the unimaginable. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,” says horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, and monsters often confirm our worst fears. [click to learn more]

Do you want to express your thoughts in a clearer and more compelling manner? Do you have convincing arguments and brilliant insights in your mind that just don't seem to translate into your writing? This course will help you get those great ideas onto paper and communicate them effectively to your intended audience, whether that is a high school teacher, college professor, or even your peers.

This course will help you transform your writing skills to match the demands of an American university course. [click to learn more]

Our goal is to improve students' analytical and technical skills through close examination of different genres and frequent writing exercises. What are the responsibilities of society toward the individual?

What are the individual's expectations of society? This course is focused on readings about the real and hypothetical issues societies face. Our work will be centered around students’ perceptions of and reflections on some of the revered institutions found in society. [click to learn more]

Who says you need to board a plane or take a road trip to travel? Wherever you are, being “in the moment” provides each of us a unique window of experience.

Good writers open up those windows for others with words by sharing their personal experience with vividness and intelligence. Reading inspires us to travel because we want to experience the places we read about first-hand. This course brings the pleasures and complexity of reading, writing, and traveling together – with no boarding pass required!

In this course, you will write about the places you have been, whether it’s the main street of your hometown or a faraway place you have visited on vacation. [click to learn more]

Preparing your college application essay can feel like a daunting task. In just 650 words, how can you tell an admissions team a memorable story about you? This course focuses on developing skills in the art of written storytelling as well as the power of concise, organized language through analysis of American rhetorical patterns and development of targeted language structures. In addition to numerous writing and feedback exercises, students will engage in a comprehensive exercise which puts them in the role of admissions team analyzing sample essays to consider what schools value and what makes a story stick. [click to learn more]

Flash fiction is a story boiled down to its essence, one that hinges on a single word, a phrase or a fragment. In this class we will learn by doing. We will read the work of a variety of modern authors, learning from those who have come before us. This is a class for exploring and pushing language, it is for students who want to hone, to sharpen their work, and to say more by saying less.

In this course, we'll be reading and experimenting with flash fiction. [click to learn more]

In this two-week-long seminar, we will explore the balance between self-expression and effective communication essential to writing the powerful personal narratives that are at the root of successful college admissions essays. Together, we will practice strategies for constructing a personal profile and translating yourself into a specific and engaging essay for your applications.

For two weeks, students will do practice exercises, preparing them to write their admissions essay(s); consider larger questions of reading and writing personal statements and respond to other students in the course using discussion boards; read sample questions and learn how best to respond in their personal statements; read and analyze sample essays to discover what makes them successful; draft their own essays as a response to sample questions; workshop their essays with other students and receive feedback from their instructor; and revise their essays in response to feedback. [click to learn more]

Are you ready to start writing the way college students write in their academic essays and their longer research papers? In this course, students will challenge themselves intellectually and creatively as they explore and experience writing as a form of inquiry, research, and argumentation. The course meets the needs of writers at any level, from students who are concerned about their academic preparation to those seeking the next challenge of university-level writing.

The first half of this course offers students the chance to think carefully about writing narrative and argumentative prose. [click to learn more]

In this class we will write. A lot. We will write every day. And by doing so, we will develop as story tellers. We will look at work from the early days of the genre to work written last week. We will look at these stories not only out of a love for sci-fi, but also out of an interest in language. We will see how the great stories were crafted and use that knowledge to inform our own work. This is a class for those of you who love language, who love stories and who love asking, "what if?"

Writing Speculative Fiction is first and foremost a writing class. [click to learn more]

Young leaders are rising up all over the world to express something of great importance - our planet is in turmoil and we must take immediate action to save it. The impacts of global climate change are increasing every minute and, sadly, are unequally impacting the world’s most vulnerable populations.

This course combines concepts in environmental studies and leadership, with a mission to develop socially responsible leaders who can contribute to global efforts to slow the impacts of climate change.

Socially responsible leadership is a lifelong pursuit that requires ongoing learning and reflection. [click to learn more]

The global climate is changing and that humans are not only the cause, but also the possible solution. This new course, developed in partnership with Ecology Project International, aims to bridge the gap between theory, case studies, and a vision for climate action. By looking in detail at climate stories and evidence of impacts on ecosystems of Costa Rica, we can internalize the depth of our local and global connection and interdependence. [click to learn more]

Did you know that the eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia in 1815 dropped the average global temperature by 5 degrees and led to the “year without a summer” and largest global famine of the 18th century? The forces of the Earth are not only important aspects that determine Earth's processes, but also have a strong influence on climate and environment. Large volcanic eruptions can negatively impact Earth’s climate, economy, and landscape for a long period of time. [click to learn more]

Each year, environmental crises proliferate: fires threatening wildlife and homes in Australia and the United States, an unprecedented number of hurricanes in the Caribbean and devastating typhoons in East Asia, rising seas, destructive resource extraction, and global disease outbreaks. These problems are not solely environmental but the result of complex interactions between society and the environment. Using seven global environmental problems as focal points, this course will delve into how societies created environmental problems and how social inequalities influence who is impacted by their effects. [click to learn more]

The great marine biologist, Sylvia Earle, says, “With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live.” With effects of global climate change on the rise, it is essential that we take action to work towards protecting the most vulnerable ecosystems on this planet. Our marine ecosystems need protection and that will take a new generation of leaders with the passion and skills to rise to the challenge. [click to learn more]

Estuaries, like Narragansett Bay, are considered to be one of the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Today, they are threatened by the challenges of climate change, which, scientists are discovering, are causing changes in salt marsh habitat and water quality. Do you want to know what a career as a field scientist includes? In this course, students will gain an understanding of how estuaries are the foundations of life in marine systems. [click to learn more]

Adaptive, resilient, interdependent, fecund, fractal are all traits that describe elements and patterns found within nature, but what do these words and patterns have to teach us about shaping change within the environmental movement? Nature has always had it all figured out- sustainability, healing, growth, balance, community. Using wisdom from the book “Emergent Strategy” by adrienne maree brown and works of other visionaries, organizers, and scientists, this course will position nature as our teacher, exploring phenomena and patterns within ecosystems in an effort to find inspiration and ponder how to lead and imagine a way forward in the face of intersectional global crises.

Youth are at the forefront of the environmental movement, which is a movement in the pursuit of justice and learning about relationships with one another and nature. [click to learn more]

Alaska’s Kachemak Bay is a special place. It is an area of diverse and surprising edges where the coastal temperate forest shifts almost imperceptibly towards boreal forest. The sea meets the land, rising and falling twice a day with the tides, and saltwater from the Pacific Ocean mixes with freshwater from rivers and glaciers. The Pacific Plate plunges beneath the North American plate, sculpting mountains, triggering earthquakes, and forming active volcanoes. [click to learn more]

During this two-week course, students will be introduced to many diverse habitats that together create the dynamic estuarine ecosystem of Narragansett Bay, the multiple branches of marine science, current research and methods employed in the field, and scientific peer-reviewed journal articles. Students will be introduced to real world research methods utilized by marine scientists to study biotic and abiotic aspects of Narragansett Bay and marine habitats globally.

Coursework will include viewing online presentations from science faculty, researchers, and Save the Bay staff, focusing on the methods and techniques used in their day-to-day work, data collection and analysis, and reading and interpreting peer-reviewed journal articles. [click to learn more]

The science is clear: the world is entering a period of ecological and climatic disruption. The science is, however, also incredibly complex. Data retrieval, analyses and interpretation, climate systems and the impacts of changes within those systems are all intricate. Climate change challenges us as individuals psychologically, intellectually, and practically. Climate change is also exacerbating systemic inequalities and challenging our patterns of consumerism and thus our social and economic ideals outright. [click to learn more]

How can art not just look good, but do good? How can science not just help us know, but help us act and feel? This course combines concepts in environmental studies, ecologically-based art, and leadership, with a mission to develop socially responsible and creative leaders.

Throughout history, art has reflected our relationship with nature—from cave etchings, landscape paintings, wildlife photography, and land art, to today’s climate change artwork. [click to learn more]

Stories such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood have captured the imaginations of children and adults alike for generations, but these names are only a few examples of tales that have their roots in French-speaking literary traditions. Folktales from across the Francophone world have much to teach us about the world we live in and the places and cultures from which they originate. This course, taught in French, will introduce students to the folktale, its history, and the methods through which scholars study them. [click to learn more]

Language class: Students in this class will develop fundamental communication skills in Spanish at the intermediate high to advanced level. Classes are taught completely in Spanish and emphasis is placed on oral expression and listening comprehension. Through discussions and exercises centered around socio-cultural topics that define contemporary Spain and Latin America, students will also be able to strengthen their abilities in grammar and vocabulary and have a rewarding experience while navigating a Spanish speaking world. [click to learn more]

Does life exist anywhere else in the universe, or even in our own Solar System? If you have ever looked at the sky and wondered if habitable worlds like (or unlike) ours exist elsewhere, then this is the class for you. This course explores possible habitats for life on Mars, asteroids, the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and exoplanets (planets around other stars), including the TRAPPIST 1 system. Along the way, you will learn about the latest NASA missions, like the Perseverance rover studying Mars, the Cassini spacecraft studying Saturn, the Kepler telescope that hunted for planets around other stars, and the soon-to-be launched James Webb Space Telescope.

This course focuses on the places where life might exist elsewhere in the Solar System or on exoplanets. [click to learn more]

Exploring the lives of those who not only fought wars but those who lived through wars, this course explores the women, men, and children in U.S. history that shaped war. We delve into the experiences of women supporting families--and serving as spies. We investigate the decision of enslaved men to serve George Washington--or King George. We probe the effects of war-making on the natural and built environment. In short, we examine the world of war from the perspective of those most keenly and most wretchedly affected by it, not those who directed the armies or negotiated surrenders. [click to learn more]

This course will examine warfare in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. Blood, battles, and brutality have romanticized these warrior rulers -- Ramesses the Great, Darius the Great, Alexander the Great, and Caesar -- and have kept their memory alive into the modern era. To understand their fame, this course will use a cross-cultural approach to the study of war in ancient societies using both archaeological and textual sources.

War is a recurring and ubiquitous human phenomenon that has existed throughout history. [click to learn more]

In this course, students will engage with great thinkers in world history, explore great social movements of our time, and immerse themselves in key ideological controversies that underpin contemporary global society.
Students will:
• Revisit the twilight of medieval Europe as the great Protestant challenge to Catholicism ushers in a new modern and individual consciousness, unleashing unexpected anxieties that would later manifest in the witch-craze that swept Europe and America. [click to learn more]

Did you know that the ancient Egyptians considered ox liver to be a really excellent treatment for night-blindness or that the Romans would treat constipation with urine from a person who ate cabbage? Have you ever heard of the Greeks performing human dissections or the ability of doctors from India to reconstruct a person’s nose after it had been cut off as a punishment?! If you would like to know more about who the ancient doctors were, how much they knew about the complex inner workings of the human body, and how they treated various illnesses and performed surgeries, then welcome to Medicine in the Ancient World! [click to learn more]

History often celebrates the victors—especially when they’re also the historians. In this course, we’ll focus on the silences in historical narratives. What is remembered and celebrated, and what is forgotten? What is the role of power in the production of history? We’ll explore these questions by looking at archives, public monuments, and museums. We’ll discuss how activist histories are recorded, who decides where monuments go, and whether or not museums are neutral. [click to learn more]

This course is designed to help students more fully understand American politics, the ways in which public policy shapes and is shaped by American politics, and the different levers of social change at the local, state and national level. In this course, students will be able to learn more about the current and historical political landscape and consider the ways that movements for social change have come about. Students will also learn about policymaking and the influence that organizations and individuals hold to shape and pass policy. [click to learn more]

This course will look at the major art movements from the 1880s to the present. We will focus on the dominant trends in art making as well as some of the critical theory that surrounds it.

From the Impressionist paintings of Claude Monet, the Cubist work of Pablo Picasso, and the Pop art of Andy Warhol, this course will examine what it means for a work of art to be Modern. Our examples will be drawn from a variety of artistic styles and media including, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and photography, to name just a few. [click to learn more]

Although the concept of infinity has been pondered since the time of the ancient Greeks, this idea was very controversial up until the mid 1900s. The beginning of the 20th century marks the beginning of some understanding of the infinite, but the next fifty years was filled with controversy, paradox, and eventual acceptance of the infinite. This course will explore both the mathematics and the rich history behind this controversial topic. [click to learn more]

Mathematical approaches in analysis of financial markets can yield fruitful results. For example, Quantitative Analysts, who are employed by investment banks and hedge funds, design and implement complex mathematical models that help institutions price financial assets. Mathematical approaches can also be used to create portfolios of assets that balance between an investment’s risk and return characteristics.

This course provides students with techniques of Probability Theory, Markov Processes and their applications in the areas of Portfolio Theory and Risk Management. [click to learn more]

Geometry is the branch of mathematics dealing with shape and measurement. Modern challenges in data analysis, the physical sciences, and many areas of social science require geometric tools entirely distinct from the classical geometry taught in high school. More importantly, they require a sophisticated mathematical point of view, since questions like "how similar are these two brain scans?" or "is this congressional district weirdly shaped?" do not immediately seem to be under the purview of mathematics.

The goal of this course will be three-fold: (1) to explore new mathematical tools at the university level, (2) to understand how these tools can, and have been, applied, and (3) to learn how to think rigorously and abstractly like mathematicians. [click to learn more]

Logic is a system of rules upon which human reasoning is based. It is a tool that we deploy routinely in our everyday lives. It pervades every academic discipline, from mathematics to the sciences to the humanities. To philosophers, however, logic is a deep and complex subject of study in its own right. This course is devoted in part to exploring this system of rules, which we will build formally from the ground up. We will eventually use our formal system both to better understand the structure of language and to model and assess real-world arguments.

Consider these two statements: 1. All ravens are black. [click to learn more]

Quantitative Analysts (Quants for short) are considered the rocket scientists of Wall Street. They design and implement complex mathematical models that allow financial firms to price and trade securities. They are employed primarily by investment banks and hedge funds, but also by insurance companies and management consultancies and others.

This course has two parts: Interest Rates and Probability Theory for Finance. [click to learn more]

"Mathematics is the queen of the sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics." Carl Friedrich Gauss

Number theory, the study of the integers, is a vibrant area of mathematical research that many students do not have the opportunity to study in high school. The objectives for this course are to expose students to this beautiful theory, to understand what inspired this quote from Gauss, and to allow students to experience mathematics as a creative, empirical science.

We will begin by studying the axioms of the integers, and spend the next three weeks unraveling their properties: divisibility, modular arithmetic, solving linear Diophantine equations, the Chinese remainder theorem, prime factorization, the Gaussian integers, and quadratic reciprocity, to name a few. [click to learn more]

The premise of set theory is deceptively simple: it is the study of boxes ("sets") and the things they hold inside them ("elements"). Axiomatic set theory is to other areas of mathematics as an operating system is to other computer programs. While it often exists in the background, only obliquely referred to, set theory supplies a solid foundation for our castles in the sky. It gives us a language with which to develop the rest of mathematics. [click to learn more]

"For Today's Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics." Such was the title of a New York Times feature and the motivation behind this course. While the field of statistics is growing daily, the most critical aspects of the subject are accessible to high school students. This course will explain how, where, and why statistics is used to solve real world issues in every imaginable field of research. We'll examine methods of collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data, focusing on issues critical to public health, economics, human behavior, sports, and many other fields. [click to learn more]

This course is focused on teaching students how to solve Rubik's Cubes and other similar "twisty puzzles." We will work through a series of puzzles, with a focus on developing general methods that can be applied to these, as well as plenty of other puzzles not discussed in the course. By the end, we will have developed some approaches and problem solving techniques that apply far beyond the world of cubing. Along the way, we will discuss the math that goes into making these solutions work. [click to learn more]

Cinema has profoundly influenced American life in the twentieth century and twenty-first century thus far. As an industry that determined the evolution of visual media across the globe, it shapes the way we see, think, and talk about the world.

How do we consider Hollywood film beyond a notion of mere entertainment and through a critical lens? This course introduces the study of American cinema through several perspectives: as a mass medium with a robust economy and mode of production; as an aesthetic form with a distinct filmic language; as a cultural institution that mediates contemporary issues of race, gender, sexuality, and class alongside questions of history and representation; and, yes, as a venue for socialization and entertainment.

We will survey historical changes throughout Hollywood, from the introduction of sound to the deployment of mass production and movie stars, from its rivalry with television to its battle with censorship and independent film. [click to learn more]

Television’s modes of content creation, distribution, and consumption are changing rapidly. Some would argue that television has usurped film as the preeminent visual medium of our age, while others would suggest that television and film are converging to the point that these very labels are becoming meaningless. Regardless, alternative modes of production and distribution allow for a plethora of diverse shows that no longer have to “play in Peoria.” Concurrently, issues of race, gender, and class on television are more prominent and pervasive than ever. [click to learn more]

This course is designed as a general introduction to film analysis. The main objective will be to help students develop the analytic tools necessary for understanding how meaning is constructed in narrative cinema.

Using examples from classical and contemporary Hollywood cinema as well as films from around the globe, we will introduce vocabularies and techniques used in serious writing about, and the analysis of, narrative cinema. [click to learn more]

The rapid influx of digital technology and so-called “new media” around the new millennium has led some to suggest that cinema—conceived as an analog technology experienced in public space as a mid-twentieth century cultural phenomenon—is dead or dying.

This course takes up this suggestive claim to ask what it might mean to live through a moment of media transition from the analog twentieth century cinema to the digital twenty-first new media landscape, especially as it relates to the lives and daily experiences of students themselves living through such a transition. [click to learn more]

In this asynchronous online class an Emmy Award-winning journalist will provide you with the tools to enhance your ability to ask and answer these critical questions. Over our four weeks together, we will work toward developing a formula for how the media can work to regain public trust and faith during this trying phase in American history. At the same time, we will be learning how we can become skillful and accurate fact-checkers, as well as educated and insightful news consumers and sharers. [click to learn more]

Mother: I do not want to live, no treatment. Daughter: I do not want my mother to die but she wants to...who decides?
Parents: We will not allow our child to get a COVID vaccine. Public Health mandates a vaccine...who decides?
Doctor: Your son will die without this treatment... Parents: We do not believe in this treatment so do not give it to him...who decides?
These are among many "hard choices" facing physicians, patients, and their families. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a medical student? In this course, you will learn about the fundamentals of the practice of medicine through two exciting weeks of immersive activities. You and your peers will explore the physiology of the human body in an online classroom setting, and experience an in-depth look at the anatomy of organs in the virtual anatomy lab. You will step inside the shoes of a doctor, learning how to conduct a medical interview and perform an extensive physical exam. [click to learn more]

The overarching theme of this course is to introduce students to the philosophical sub-field of applied ethics. Students will have the opportunity to learn some central ethical ideas and to consider how such ideas apply to students’ own lived experiences. The course is uniquely interesting in providing students the opportunity to consider how one can approach philosophy as a living practice. It provides a unique opportunity to bring theory and lived experience together to develop one’s own philosophical practice. [click to learn more]

Is abortion morally permissible? How about torture? Capital punishment? Is eating meat morally wrong? Are we morally required to help those in poverty? How do we take steps to rectify racial injustice (affirmative action, reparations, etc.)? Is pornography morally objectionable?

People have strong, conflicting beliefs about how to answer these questions. Often, these beliefs are ones they hold near and dear. This can make it difficult to subject those beliefs to rational evaluation. [click to learn more]

From the workplace to government policy to schools and universities to city streets throughout the country, questions surrounding the meaning and value of equality are increasingly taking center stage. In this class, students will learn the history of egalitarianism and its philosophical basis, examine how well it withstands the objections of some of its strongest critics, and discuss how these ideas are influencing urgent debates about equity and justice in our society today.

In the process, students will develop several vital skills for the future: they will hone their critical reasoning, learn how to develop strong, rigorous arguments, and practice thinking clearly about sophisticated concepts and theories. [click to learn more]

One might believe in gender equality and participate in different gender equality movements, and yet still exhibit gender bias in one’s behaviors without being aware of it. Similarly, one might believe in racial equality, and yet still experience anxiety when walking past African American people. It is very likely that the manifested gender bias and anxious reaction are due to implicit bias. How should we understand implicit bias? [click to learn more]

“You can trust me!” “I pinky swear!” “Your secret is safe with me.” “My lips are sealed!" Trust is a core part of our every-day life. It’s everywhere: patients rely upon doctors to give them correct medical information, courts rely upon witnesses to offer sincere testimony, and we trust our close family and friends to keep our secrets and make good on their promises. At the same time, lying and deception are rife. [click to learn more]

Feminism is one of the leading social justice movements of our day. This course uses the tools of analytic philosophy to investigate a diverse range of feminist issues. Topics include: the metaphysics of sex and gender, sexual orientation, and systems of social oppression such as sexism and misogyny, bodily autonomy, consent, reproductive rights, and the impact of social movements aimed at gender equality and justice.

This is an introductory course that applies the tools and methods of analytic philosophy to feminist issues. [click to learn more]

This course will consider the ethics and politics of resistance to the law: when (if ever) it is permissible, or even required, to break the law, use violence in protests, or even overthrow the government altogether. We will explore the debates on these questions as they have appeared both in professional philosophy and in the public, political sphere in recent years.

The course will both consider some fundamental questions in political and moral philosophy: is there an obligation to obey the law? [click to learn more]

This course will provide an overview of Newtonian Mechanics. We will be studying one and two dimensional motion, forces, momentum, energy, rotational motion, periodic motion and light. Starting with the concepts of vectors we will move on to studying Newton's laws of physics. Learning about the conservation of energy and momentum will then lead to the analysis of circular motion. We will learn about periodic motion, waves and light, which will lead to the developments of some concepts in modern physics and electromagnetic theory.

Smartphones and tablets in use today have sensors that are able to measure lengths, positions, velocities, accelerations, light and sound as well as many other physical phenomena such as vibrations and magnetic fields. [click to learn more]

Humans have explored the Earth and our moon, but the other planets are millions of miles away. How do we learn about them? Planetary scientists use data collected by spacecraft, rovers, and occasionally astronauts to understand the surfaces and interiors of far-away bodies in our solar system.

Topics of investigation will include: planetary formation and evolution, volcanism (lava and ice!), impact cratering, rock and mineral alteration, atmospheres, resurfacing, tectonics, and exoplanets. [click to learn more]

You've heard of Einstein, Marie Curie, and Newton, but who really were the men and women behind physics' most famous discoveries? What's their story? Why is their work so famous, anyway? How do we use the concepts they explored today? Together we will learn and discuss the work of some great physicists and many other famous scientists. Understanding the lives of these figures allows us to discover along with them how they were able to make the groundbreaking discoveries that led us to the current day.

This is a course for students who want to learn physics while understanding how physics got to where it is today. [click to learn more]

Introduction to Nanotechnology provides a broad overview of nanotechnology, discussing the fundamental science of nanotechnology and its applications to engineering, biomedical, and environmental fields. We will discuss the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and how the different basic sciences merge to create the field.

The course provides a background of the understanding, motivation, implementation, impact, future, and implications of nanotechnology. [click to learn more]

Physics with Force is a central theme that ties a lot of the major Physics concepts together. The course begins with an understanding of the current and historical concepts of Force. From a historical viewpoint, the Aristotelean and Biblical view of Physics matched, creating an unbreakable bond of stagnation in the understanding of Physics in the western world, which led to 1500 years of dark ages in the progress of Physics. [click to learn more]

Our world is composed of seemingly-invisible particles at every scale imaginable. We can look at ourselves and ask, "What are we made of?" We might answer that we're made of "cells" that have a molecular structure built upon elements such as carbon or iron. But what if we dig deeper? We find that those elements are made from protons, neutrons and electrons! While we can hold a piece of metal and claim that it's made of iron, we aren't able to do so with protons for they are too small. [click to learn more]

Quantum mechanical formalism suggests that the underlying mechanics of our universe is far divorced from our perception of reality. In this course, we will examine the conceptual fundamentals of quantum mechanics and explore their metaphysical implications.

Quantum mechanics posits that the behavior of particles in our universe is necessarily probabilistic, and that until measured, observable quantities do not have determinate values. [click to learn more]

Borders are everywhere. They define our lives whether we are aware of it or not. Most of us live far away from the conflictual spaces that migrants seek to cross and nationalists seek to fortify, yet none of us is free from the influence of borderlands. Geographical, political, and physical borders play a central role in the self-understanding of peoples and nations—even the stateless find their lives defined and constrained by borders. [click to learn more]

This course will examine the moral and democratic value of U.S. constitutional law through the lens of political theory. As such, students will evaluate for themselves what, if anything, makes laws legitimate, and if contemporary interpretations of the Constitution are morally defensible.

During the course, we will read contemporary and classic cases in U.S. constitutional law and canonical texts from political theory. [click to learn more]

In this course, students develop a familiarity with some of the most prominent political thinkers of the modern period, then directly apply what they've learned to assess some of the most pressing debates about democracy in the United States today. The course is highly interactive, making use of the discussion forums on Canvas and asking students to record and share presentations and discussion questions on the course material.

We often hear that democracy is under threat. [click to learn more]

This course examines the complex relationship between ethics and politics in international affairs. Starting with an overview of different perspectives on the role of ethics and morality in international relations, the course then explores the ethical dimensions of issues central to foreign policy and the study of world politics, including the use of force, human rights, and global distributive justice. This course aims to foster an analytical approach that encourages students to think about applied international ethics in a rigorous and systematic manner.

The course analyzes a number of contemporary issues that raise important ethical questions, such as preventive war against Iran, staging a humanitarian intervention in Syria, what we owe the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, our obligation to the world's poorest citizens, and our duties and responsibilities to the environment. [click to learn more]

Truth is an absolute. Truth-finding is difficult. Some trials do not end simply with their verdict. They have a power that echoes throughout history. They have shaped and transformed the social, political and legal landscape. These trials deserve the description “great” because they serve as enduring lessons for us all on such issues as social justice, race, abuse of power, and injustice.

This course will examine fifteen of the greatest trials that have occurred across the globe in a search of the truth, from Socrates to O.J. [click to learn more]

Because the law affects nearly all aspects of daily life, studying our society’s legal framework empowers students to step into leadership roles, help others, and change the world around them. In addition, students can greatly improve their decision-making by understanding the way that lawyers, lawmakers, and judges think.

This course offers insight and a head start for students considering a legal education, as well as a valuable advantage for students in any field. [click to learn more]

This course will take a deep look at some of the issues facing our democracy from the perspectives of the law, ethics, and political philosophy. Through the lens of classic and contemporary texts in moral and political philosophy, judicial opinion, and current events we will examine questions like: How should a nation decide who gets to immigrate? What is the proper role of money in politics? Are there any justifiable limits to free speech on college campuses? [click to learn more]

Conflict is universal. We encounter it in our daily lives with friends, family-members, classmates and co-workers; in our communities between different interest and identity groups; and at the global level between state or non-state actors. Good leadership is essential at any and all of these levels to ensure that conflicts are dealt with constructively rather than destructively, to ensure that the potential for social change and positive transformation that exists in conflict is realized, rather than lost in the infliction of physical violence or other forms of harm. [click to learn more]

Human rights violations are rampant and can be found across the world: from the killings of unarmed black men in the United States, to the suppression of LGBTQ+ people in Russia, to the detainment of Turkic Muslims in China. As we learn about such violations in our own communities and beyond, we face the question: how can we identify and effectively oppose them? Students learn about the theory and practice of human rights, engage with multiple case studies of the violation and effective defense of human rights, and develop an Action Plan to address a violation of human rights in their own community. [click to learn more]

What promise does the law have in generating social justice? What explains why the substantive meaning of the law changes over time and how does it happen, exactly? In this course, students will assess the role and record of the U.S. Supreme Court in transforming collective ideals of justice for social groups in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We will analyze the ways political activists and social movements have organized, strategized, and engaged with the legal system and judiciary to enact social justice goals and values. [click to learn more]

Where do you spend most of your waking hours nowadays? Online, of course! Glued to smartphone screens for updates from friends, family, or the news, staying safe in zoom classrooms, or relaxing in online gaming communities – almost every aspect of our lives has become digital. Such a revolutionary change in our daily lives is not without consequences, least of all on how we get involved politically. From #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo to the Alt-Right, QAnon, and #Gamergate: Some of the most high profile political moments in recent years first gained traction online. [click to learn more]

Nearly twenty years after 9/11, terrorism remains a pressing security concern that shapes domestic and foreign policy on a variety of critical issues. When it is mentioned, however, the topic of discussion is nearly always Islamist terrorism. Given this, it might come as a surprise to learn that since 9/11 far-right violent extremists in the U.S. have been responsible for almost twice as many terrorist attacks as Islamist terrorists and nearly half of all domestic terrorism fatalities. [click to learn more]

Who wins and loses in the American economy? How does the economy exploit and dominate some groups while continuing to bestow profits and gains on others? What can we do to make the economy more just? These are some of the questions we will explore in this class.

At a time of rising populism, trade wars, and racial tension, this class gives students the tools to make sense of contemporary problems. Students will be able to understand what it means for the Fed to raise interest rates and the winners and losers from such policies. [click to learn more]

Two hundred years after Karl Marx’s birth, socialism is making a comeback in American political discourse. Policy proposals from self-declared socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are gaining support in Congress and among much of the electorate. However, it is not exactly clear just what the term “socialism” refers to—either in the thought of its opponents or its supporters.

This class will address the question by studying the central period of the socialist traditions’ formation in Europe and the United States. [click to learn more]

Comic books have always reflected the politics of the day. Currently, one of the most popular iterations of comic book stories is the series of movies and television shows known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). By examining the politics of these movies, we can better understand our own politics. The course will use a combination of MCU films and political science readings to explore topics including American exceptionalism, regulation, and representation, and will conclude with an independent research project.

We will cover three main themes of political science that are present in the MCU. [click to learn more]

This course provides an introduction to the study of U.S. foreign policy. It focuses on the United States’ emergence as a global economic power in the late nineteenth century, its rise to global superpower status after World War II, and its unique status today as the world’s sole superpower. Combining history, theory, and analysis, this course examines some of the key decisions, themes, and debates that have defined and shaped U.S. [click to learn more]

Are you interested in learning about how mental health affects teens? Why adolescence is called the time of storm and stress? What it really means for an adolescent to have depression, anxiety, or a personality disorder? Students will learn how psychiatric disorders manifest among adolescents, how disorders are treated, and controversies in adolescent psychiatric diagnoses. This class will use lectures, discussions, and multimedia to present these topics in a fun and interactive way.

The goal of this course is to provide an overview of psychological disorders in adolescence. [click to learn more]

Have ever wondered if your friend has an eating disorder, if your uncle is an alcoholic, or if your math teacher is depressed? Have you ever thought about why a behavior that is normal in one culture might be considered a disorder in another culture? If so, you have already thought about abnormal psychology.

Abnormal psychology involves understanding the nature, causes, and treatment of different mental disorders. [click to learn more]

What made you who you are? How do you see yourself changing in the future? How do your decisions influence your own life and the lives of others? Human development is brought to life in this course through the use of online simulations and engaging class discussions and activities. You will raise a "virtual child" from birth to age 18 to see the effects of your parenting decisions over time. From infancy through elderhood, we will explore the biological, psychological, and social influences that shape who we become.

This human development course is organized chronologically from infancy to elderhood, with each class period reflecting a new stage of life. [click to learn more]

This course will introduce students to methods used by psychological science to help answer common questions about the “unknown.” We will examine common ways in which human thinking leads people to believe strange things and to maintain these beliefs even in the face of contradictory information. Students will develop critical thinking skills for evaluating claims about human behavior, especially claims made in the popular media concerning “paranormal” or otherwise unusual phenomena.

Why do many people believe in palm reading, alien abductions, past-life regression therapy, and ghosts? [click to learn more]

How does culture influence the way we interact each other? Does Western psychology differ from Eastern psychology? What are implicit and explicit biases, and how do we recognize them? What does it mean to be in an inter-racial relationship? There are so many mundane questions that arise when we think about culture in psychology. This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to general theories and methods related to culture and diversity.

This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to general theories and methods related to culture and diversity. [click to learn more]

Whatever else may motivate people to behave as they do (e.g., money, fame, status), beneath it all is a very human need to find a more fundamental meaning and purpose to their lives. By searching for a sense of “being,” grounded in purpose and significance, many hope to discover something of greater value than these external rewards. Unfortunately, this effort is often impeded by such dilemmas of existence (aka existential dilemmas) as loneliness, anxiety, emptiness, and struggling to be. [click to learn more]

What does it mean to know yourself? Why is love so painful? What is the source of man’s belief in God? How does history repeat itself? Why do our dreams haunt us? Is there a difference between men and women? What is an Oedipus complex, and do you have one? Sigmund Freud devoted his life to answering these questions.

In this course, we will dive deep into the theories of psychoanalysis to explore how Freud’s work shapes our modern understanding of dreams, desires, love, sexuality, neurosis, religion, and society. [click to learn more]

This course is designed to explore the psychological trauma of war, displacement, and pandemics. These collective traumas have catastrophic effect on the health and wellbeing of individuals and nations. They can destroy communities and families, and cause long-term physical and psychological harm. This course provides extensive overview of risk factors and protective factors, as well as unique cultural, ethnic, and religious factors that effect the development of trauma and its recovery. [click to learn more]

The completion of the Human Genome Project may be the most important scientific achievement of our lifetime, but how much can genes tell us about complex human behavior? How much does the environment impact human behavior? What kind of research techniques can be used to identify specific genes and specific environments that influence behavior?

Behavioral genetics is a field of study that combines statistics and molecular biology to answer these questions. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered how mental illness affects children and their families? Can kids "catch" autism? Can children really suffer from schizophrenia? From autism and anxiety to pediatric bipolar and schizophrenia disorders, students will learn how psychiatric disorders manifest in children, how disorders are treated, and controversies in childhood psychiatric diagnoses. This class will use lectures, discussions, and multimedia to present these topics in a fun and interactive way.

The goal of this course is to provide an overview of psychological disorders in childhood and adolescence. [click to learn more]

In this course, students will be exposed to the science and practice of Clinical Psychology. Students will learn about the clinical characteristics of many major classes of psychiatric disorders, and the scientifically validated treatments available for these conditions. This course is intended to provide information for those considering a career in clinical psychology, allowing those individuals to make informed choices regarding their future career choices.

For most people, their exposure to psychology comes mostly from popular books, magazines, and TV. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered if you are spending too much time on social media? In "Media and Mental Health," we will explore and evaluate the ways in which media intersect with mental health and wellbeing. We will also explore the ways psychology and psychological treatment is (mis)-represented in the popular media.

Understanding the role of the media on mental health and wellbeing is more important than ever before. [click to learn more]

This course integrates the study of management principles and practices with the study of human behavior within organizations. The focus will be upon translation of management and organizational behavior theory to practices that result in organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and human resource development. The primary goal of this course is to prepare students for advanced leadership roles in modern organization. This course will provide a good foundation for students intending to study in any major, as the main objective of this course is to provide students with the essential content and experiences they need to become a motivating student, successful manager and an effective employee in any type of work they do in the future. [click to learn more]

This course will introduce students to what psychologists mean when they use the term personality. Does money make people happy? Why do some people prefer to study in a noisy coffee shop while other people prefer a quiet library? How is personality related to health outcomes such as heart disease? What motivates people? Are men from Mars and women from Venus? What does it mean for a person to have a psychological “disorder” of personality?

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the field of personality, including the main theories of personality and the development of personality. [click to learn more]

Have you ever wondered where the terms “cold feet” or “butterflies in your stomach” come from? Have you ever wondered why zebras and other animals don’t get ulcers? This course will answer these and other questions related to the role of psychology in the onset, course, and treatment of physical health conditions. This course will provide an overview of the principles and applications of health psychology: “the study of how biology, psychology, and social processes work together to impact a person’s health and illness.” Students will learn how a person’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors influence their physical health and will gain an appreciation of the connection between our mental and physical well-being.

Health psychology topics will be discussed in terms of acute and chronic illnesses (e.g., cancer, HIV) and behaviors (e.g., sleep, diet/exercise, substance use). [click to learn more]

How do we cope with war, natural disaster, or terrorism? What about surviving experiences with abuse or torture? How are these experiences different or similar to routine life stresses like exams, moving, or getting divorced? How can you prevent or treat psychological problems that might arise after trauma? These are some of the overarching issues that will be addressed in this course.

As reflected in the media, our current global community has experienced seemingly overwhelming levels of trauma; recent years have seen sharp increases in the numbers of natural disasters, as well as a shift toward increases in civilian exposure to war and terrorism. [click to learn more]

Are you a procrastinator? Have you ever struggled with temptation or to stay motivated to do something? If so, you’re not alone! Most people find it tough to make the “right” choice or to follow through with their goals even when they know they should. When success doesn’t come, it is easy to feel hopeless and to think “I HAVE NO WILLPOWER!” But what if what we think about willpower is wrong? Misconceptions about willpower and self-control can get in the way of achieving goals like saving money, getting good grades, exercising, or breaking bad habits.

This course will provide an overview of the science of willpower, what it is, and how it works. [click to learn more]

“We only use 10% of our brains.” “Virtually all people who confess to a crime are guilty.” “Always stick with your first instinct when answering multiple choice questions.” This course will encourage you to consider some of the hottest debates in psychology and shatter the biggest misconceptions in the field.

Myths in popular psychology are important to explore because they can mislead us about the nature of human behavior and can cue us to make ill-advised decisions in our daily lives. [click to learn more]

Psychology – the study of the mind, the brain, and behavior – is relevant to every aspect of your life! How does personality form? How are memories constructed and stored? How does society and culture impact an individual’s behavior? How are mental illnesses diagnosed and treated? These are just some of the questions we will attempt to answer in this course. This course will provide an introduction to a broad range of topics in psychology, including biological psychology, social psychology, personality, developmental psychology, health psychology, and psychological disorders.

Every aspect of our lives is touched in some way by the concepts of psychology, and no matter what you see as your future career, studying psychology can be useful. [click to learn more]

What is love? How is it different from companionship (friendship, family) or infatuation (a crush, lust)? What determines who we fall in love with? What keeps relationships together and what breaks them up? Why do people behave so irrationally in love? These are some of the most basic questions about the feeling that we call love we ask ourselves as human beings, as scientists, and as students.

This course will cover major areas of psychology (e.g., developmental, social, biological, clinical), as well as psychological research methods, through the lens of studying romantic relationships. [click to learn more]

Can trauma responses be inherited from grandparents and great grandparents? The answer is "yes" according to recent discoveries in the field of behavioral genetics. This course will explore new research that explains how traumatic experiences of an individual's ancestors can create genetic alterations that are inherited by subsequent generations. Thus, making individuals predisposed to various psychiatric conditions such as Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. [click to learn more]

How does the food people eat impact their bodies? The internet, family members, friends and the media may tell us different things, but what does the evidence say? Further, what do public health nutrition-based interventions look like and are they effective? Using a global, public health lens, students in this course will gain a better understanding of the intersections of nutrition, health, poverty and the importance of credible sources of information.

Students will explore current research related to the human need of macronutrients and micronutrients to survive and function and will discuss sources, main functions and deficiency syndromes of each. [click to learn more]

This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) class that will provide students with the chance to propose, design, and conduct their own research projects, working on topics and seeking answers to questions that are currently unknown to science.

The motto of The Brown University School of Public Health is "Learn public health by doing public health." This idea extends to this course; you should learn research by doing research. [click to learn more]

This course in health policy prepares students to take part in the analysis of health care policy and in the broader political debate about health care. Utilizing real life cases, stories, and data, this course examines the health challenges that are faced by men, women, children, health providers, and policy makers in the United States (US). This course will assess a broad array of public health policies which affect health, safety and quality of life (policies pertaining to obesity, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, inequality, housing, injury, prescription drug overuse, transportation, and the environment). [click to learn more]

Approximately 40 million Americans smoke or use tobacco daily, leading to more than 480,000 attributable deaths a year. Tobacco-related illness in the U.S. costs more than $300 billion a year. Since tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S., and will soon be in the developing world, tobacco control is imperative.

This class is intended to help students gain in-depth knowledge about the public health problem of tobacco use and cigarette smoking, nicotine addiction, novel new products, and the tobacco industry. [click to learn more]

Systems of power and privilege impact us all. Join us in taking a social scientist’s lens to the ever-woven threads of racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, and classism to understand their massive impact on global health and individual implicit biases. The foundation of this course will prepare students with skills to become a critical consumer of social science research. Beyond just learning the science behind these topics, we will promote and explore the concept of cultural humility while facilitating self-awareness.

Cultural humility is an attitude and way of being in and responding to the world that encourages individuals to not elevate their own world view over others. [click to learn more]

Living now in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, thoughts of whether humanity can defeat the virus, and, if so, what will become of the world post-pandemic, greatly trouble the mind. While our anxieties at present are very real and valid, concern over humanity’s end and the end of the world is not new. The theme of the apocalypse features prominently in some of the most lucrative Hollywood movies that dramatize global catastrophes—extreme global warming, astrological forces, pandemics—that threaten humanity’s end. [click to learn more]

William E. B. Du Bois was unquestionably one of the most influential thinkers and civil rights activists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His contributions and legacy to the social sciences and humanities are unquestionable. For example, within Sociology, and after years of omission, Du Bois’s work has recently been rescued and he has recently been progressively canonized as one of the foregrounding classical thinkers of the discipline, along-side prominent figures like Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. [click to learn more]

This course seeks to understand historical and contemporary trends in racial and ethnic discrimination and inequality through sociological texts and the art and activism of Hip-Hop’s cultural producers. Certainly, this is a course on Hip-Hop culture and Hip-Hop artistry. But it is more than that. In this course, we delve into how the social sources and expressions of racial and ethnic discrimination and inequality, present and past, have been interpreted by Hip-Hop and its cultural producers. [click to learn more]

This course looks at how historic ideologies about gender, race, and class have influenced the medical field. Thinking sociologically about the intersections of these ideologies and the practice of medicine, we will explore how medical research has justified, for example, involuntary medical experimentation based on these views and how the field of medicine has treated individuals differently based on race, gender, and class.

The course explores the complicated history of race, focusing on how the field of medicine has historically shaped our conceptual views of race and individuals' placement within a racial hierarchy in the United States. [click to learn more]

Science and digital technologies have catalyzed often-overlooked revolutions in our day-to-day lives. From the development of the smart phone, to the atomic bomb, to antiretroviral drugs, the social landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries has been shaped by technological, medical, and scientific advancements. And, in the wake of these new breakthroughs, a host of philosophical, legal, and political questions have inevitably followed.

This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, and Society. [click to learn more]

Now more than ever we are compelled to step into leadership roles to address the pressing issues within our communities, nations, and the world. Leadership and Social Change is a course designed to support students in developing their capacity for strong leadership through skill development and theoretical understanding.

This course will examine a variety of modes of social change, including direct service, community organizing, philanthropy, electoral politics, and legislative/legal advocacy and will explore how each can play a critical role in moving us toward a more just society. [click to learn more]

Every child living in America is legally guaranteed equal access to a free public education, and equal opportunity once enrolled. When the neighborhood where a student lives, their race, their primary spoken language, their (dis)abilities, and their socioeconomic class influence, if not dictate, where the student attends school, and the type and quality of education they receive, educational access cannot be considered equal. [click to learn more]

Social entrepreneurship/enterprise is a rapidly growing field which utilizes an entrepreneurial approach to address social needs and create positive change. Companies such as Patagonia, 4ocean and Warby Parker epitomize strong and sustainable organizations which are creating both social and financial value. 

This course will provide students with an overview of this evolving field and explore critical aspects of justice-informed leadership.

This course will help students understand how social entrepreneurs drive innovation and transformation in fields such as health, education, and the environment while considering community needs.  Students will examine the opportunities and challenges associated with a variety of types of social enterprises, including social purpose businesses, nonprofits, and revenue generating enterprises. [click to learn more]

Social entrepreneurship/enterprise is a rapidly growing field which utilizes an entrepreneurial approach to address social needs and create positive change. Companies such as Patagonia, 4ocean and Warby Parker epitomize strong and sustainable organizations which are creating both social and financial value. 

This course will provide students with an overview of this evolving field and help students understand how social entrepreneurs drive innovation and transformation in fields such as health, education, and the environment.  Students will examine the opportunities and challenges associated with a variety of types of social enterprises, including social purpose businesses, nonprofits, and revenue generating enterprises. [click to learn more]

This interdisciplinary course focuses on natural and human-initiated disasters and their impact on human life. We will explore how social dynamics such as culture, inequality and social structure influence vulnerability and shape how people face, respond, recover, or fail to recover from disasters, and examine the evacuation process during a pandemic such as COVID-19.

What is a disaster and how do the two broadest categories—natural and manmade disasters—differ from one another? [click to learn more]

Most Americans claim to be “middle class” but is this actually true and how do we define notions of the American Dream? Is the middle-class shrinking in America and if so, why? Do youth aspire for the same markers of a middle-class lifestyle as did their parents and grandparents? Does such attainment even seem possible? In this course, we will seek to define the familiar yet complicated term,” middle-class,” studying the nuanced ways it has been understood and defined from the early 20th century through the modern-day. [click to learn more]

Is America a post-racial nation? Did the election of Barack Obama mark a meaningful change in opportunities for Black Americans? How in fact, should racial progress be measured? In this course, we will discuss race, class mobility, status, and privilege through an in-depth study of the Black middle-class in America from post-reconstruction through the modern-day. Our historical overview of the Black middle-class will include central questions concerning racial progression, class consciousness, and social reproduction.

While studying the foundations of the Black middle-class in America, students will gain relevant insight into the mechanics of social progression, including experiences related to housing, the workforce, educational institutions, and everyday social interactions. [click to learn more]

Despite the advancement of women in society over the past century, in recent years, local, national and global movements and activists have courageously stepped forward to expose the pervasive challenges and unique barriers women continue to face in educational, career, social and political arenas.

In this course, students will:
(1) analyze the historical and social constructions of gender in order to understand the connections between leadership gaps and gender-based exclusion,
(2) explore intersectional, intercultural, and global factors that influence women’s leadership styles in order to reimagine more expansive and inclusive forms of leadership,
(3) examine emerging and transformative girls’ and women’s movements that have galvanized a new wave of female activism, and
(4) propose strategies to facilitate inclusion and social justice for women.
Through an interdisciplinary focus on readings, case studies and guest speakers, this course provides a broad introduction to the study of women in leadership. [click to learn more]

Communicating effectively is an essential professional and personal skill. This course will help you achieve greater confidence and expertise as a communicator while further developing your unique voice and style.

Over the course of two weeks we will examine all aspects of the communication process: how to compose effective, interesting speeches, establish meaningful connections with audiences of any size (whether that audience consists of a small group or fills an auditorium) and master the critical art of persuasive speaking. [click to learn more]

What does a 2500 year old Greek play have to do with the feminist movement, prison abolition, or police brutality? From its beginnings, theatre has always served as a forum for people to engage in political debate and even protest. In this course we'll be learning about the history Greek Theatre and its relevance in today’s political arena. Our course will begin with the history and influence of Greek theatre on today’s theatre conventions -- including a section on mask making, where we can make our own Greek acting masks! [click to learn more]

Want to make amazing presentations and influence people? Learn the tips, tricks, tactics, and tools of giving effective public presentations. This course will introduce you to fundamental methods of public speaking and designing effective graphic presentations.

Public presentation skills are central to success in any academic or professional career. This course will provide an introduction to the key elements of planning, designing, and giving effective public presentations. [click to learn more]

In our current world, the want to help is often followed with a feeling of uncertainty. How can you channel your unique perspective and talents into making a compassionate difference for the health and well-being of yourself and your communities?

In this course, students will have the opportunity to train in Compassionate Creativity: an innovative practice that facilitates integrating artistic expression with mindfulness in order to lead a healthy, socially responsible life and career. [click to learn more]

Humans not only communicate through stories, we build our lives around them. We inherit stories, invent them through both necessity and imagination; we justify wars based on stories, we create borders based on stories, we make stories out of love and family and fear and longing and joy. The ability to focus on a story, to follow a line of curiosity, or inquiry, has powerful implications for discovery and for how we shape the future of our world. [click to learn more]

Drawing Intensive introduces students of all levels to a totally immersive drawing experience. This course gives students a head start in preparing for college art classes by creating a more advanced, unique portfolio that shows a range of drawing skills. Observational, imaginative, planning, and process drawing will all be covered, while allowing students the space to nurture their own unique vision. Students will receive group critique, one-on-one feedback to hone technique, and the freedom to experiment. [click to learn more]