Potable water is in much higher demand worldwide because of climate change. This seminar discusses research publications about the problems contributing to current water insecurity. Lectures will focus on assigned weekly readings that discuss each issue, case studies in multiple countries, and the analytical methods used for analyses. In addition, students will be required to complete weekly written assignments and a research project where they will apply the gained knowledge. The structure of this course will be beneficial to students who plan on attending graduate school in the STEM fields.

This hybrid studio addresses human comfort with lectures and problem work sessions integrated with design projects. We start with an in-depth study of the world's climate regions, the sun, and the earth's tilt and spin. Primary methods of heat transfer are investigated as students research two architectural solutions (vernacular and contemporary) within each climate. Using daylight, the sun's movement, and sun-path diagrams students will design, draw and build a functioning solar clock. Issues in day-lighting and thermal comfort will then drive an extended design problem.

This course covers some classic topics and debates in philosophy of science, such as the problem of induction: can prior observations give us reason to make predictions about things we have not observed? Other questions discussed may include: Can science tell us about things that we cannot directly observe? What counts as evidence for a scientific hypothesis, and when (if ever) may we say that such a hypothesis is confirmed? What problems arise when we use approximations, false theories (like Newtonian mechanics), or models? What is the role of moral or social values in science?

This course surveys the history of Indigenous worlds, colonial projects, enslavement, and the contested transformation of lives and communities in North America through the U.S. Civil War. How did settler political and economic strategies shape the land and life upon it? How did Native people and people of African descent claim sovereignty, create new bonds, and partake in the creation of new nations in landscapes of violence and subjugation?

Bombarded daily by thousands of images, we often lack sufficient visual literacy to understand fully how they shape our reality. The course explores roles that images have played in earlier cultures and in our own, how people view, analyze, and articulate their understanding of the visual world. Topics include living statues, votive offerings, voodoo figures, relics, idolatry, iconoclasm, propaganda, and censorship.

We usually encounter medieval art in the museum. There, encased in glass and opportunely illuminated, they are objects of quiet contemplation. Yet the art and architecture of the Middle Ages were seldom still or silent, and its audiences were rarely disinterested observers. In this course we will explore medieval architecture's multifaceted meanings for those who experienced its sights and sounds. We will also consider the interrelationships between objects in other media -- such as sculpture, mosaic, and textile -- and the architectural spaces in which they were situated.

Even in ruins, the buildings of ancient Rome still amaze us: luxurious villas and palaces, monumental theaters and bathhouses, even a strikingly modern-looking public infrastructure. But how did architecture change after the Western Roman Empire's collapse in the fifth century CE? This seminar delves into the architecture of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (ca. 300-ca. 800 CE).

Sleep is one of the great enigmas of behavior and physiology. Why would individuals spend 1/3 of their lives in a state that prevents reproducing, collecting resources, or climbing social hierarchies? As Dr. Rechtschaffen eloquently put it: "If sleep does not serve an absolutely vital function, then it is the biggest mistake the evolutionary process has ever made." In this course, we will explore the psychological and neurobiological functions of sleep. We will seek scientifically informed answers to questions like: why do we dream? And what happens when we don't get enough sleep?

This intensive technical and hands-on course is intended for advanced film production students. We will gain the skills needed to create high quality moving images through the exploration of the frame and lighting as well as story subtext. We will use advanced cinema cameras and lenses to expand our basic knowledge of cinematography gained in Introduction to Video Production. We will focus on camera placement, lens selection, movement, composition, and advanced lighting and exposure techniques. Camera rigs and dollies will be used for both studio and location-based work.

This course traces the administrative and popular categorizations of Muslim populations in Europe and the United States following the events of September 11, 2001. The course examines the mechanisms through which Muslims are designated as a coherent, timeless category associated with backwardness, violence, and an urgent threat.