Claude Levi-Strauss famously said, "Animals are good to think with." This upper level course will explore both the symbolic and practical use of animals. We will examine how we have used them to think about issues such as human identity, civilization, and nature, and also investigate their role in human social and economic history. Looking at history from the perspective of "dumb beasts" and "noble brutes" challenges our usual anthropocentric perspective.

This course provides students with fundamental skills in structural wood design for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Through examples and hands-on lab projects, students learn about structural wood behavior and techniques for designing individual wood components including: beams, columns, trusses, wood/steel connections, and floor panels using lumber, timber and engineered wood products.

In this class, students will work with a variety of teaching styles focused on introducing elementary and middle school-aged children to the creative and collaborative process of theater. Through games, improvisation and the fundamentals of theatrical storytelling, classmates will also have the opportunity to adapt, design, rehearse and perform an original script appropriate for elementary through high school-aged students.

An in-depth exploration of selected scenes from a range of theatrical works. The course will cover character development and relationships through examination, analysis, and lab based performance exercises. Enrollment limited to 16.

This course introduces students to the historical roots of mass incarceration and how it shapes multiple aspects of life and society. We will focus on the particular experiences of currently and formerly incarcerated women, with an emphasis on the overrepresentation of Black women; the major social, political, and economic factors that have contributed to the rise of mass incarceration in the United States; the primary ways mass incarceration alters the lives of people and communities; and why eliminating racial oppression cannot be disentangled from eliminating mass incarceration.

An exploration of the nature of moral psychology. We discuss how reason, emotion, cultural norms and social pressures shape our moral judgments; how brain activity correlates with moral decision-making; and how we can use psychological research on moral intuition to evaluate cultural and political disagreements. Prerequisites: PSY 202. Enrollment limited to 25.

This course explores the creation and performance of dance as it relates to musicals and storytelling in theater. Students practice applicable dance techniques and choreographic principles, gaining a hands on understanding of dance in musicals. The course embraces a diversity of styles and definitions of musicals. Instructors build upon their own training to teach material in the lineage of one or more dance forms—e.g., jazz, tap, ballet, modern dance, hip hop—that feature in musicals for the stage and the screen. The course situates its topic in relevant historical and cultural contexts.