Have you ever wondered why Spam is so popular in Hawaii and why Thai food is available all across the United States? Are you curious why black-eyed peas and collards are considered "soul food"? In this course, we will answer these questions by digging in to the histories of global environmental transformation through colonialism, slavery, and international migration. We will consider the production and consumption of food as a locus of power over the last 300 years.

In this course, we will work on the problem of race/racism with a specific focus on its presence in programing, AI, and algorithmic decision-making. Algorithms are increasingly being relied on to decide various aspects of everyday life, ranging from employment, insurance rates, or whether one becomes a suspect in a criminal investigation. And, unsurprisingly, algorithms often exacerbate already-existing biases, especially racism. So, the question we will explore in this class is: Can algorithms be anti-racist? And, what would be required to enact an anti-racist algorithmic future?

As recently as 250 years ago the world had a roughly equal level of development. Today, the richest country in the world has an average income level around 400 times that of the poorest. The course will grapple with the tension between global inequalities, economic development, and environmental justice. First we will explore contemporary debates in development economics, including development ethics, development theory and practice, and development critiques.

This interdisciplinary course critically engages a range of frameworks (geopolitical, historical, literary) for a study of the complex and contested reality of Cuba. We will critique and decenter the stereotypical images of Cuba that circulate in US popular and official culture, and we will examine the constructions of race, gender, and sexuality that have defined the Cuban nation. We will also explore how Cuba should be understood in relation to the U.S., to its diaspora in Miami, and elsewhere.

This course focuses on the broad fundamentals of western music and music theory, including music literacy (how to read western music notation). We will look at concepts such as pitch, timbre, melody, and texture, and learn about rhythm, intervals, scales, chords, and harmony. We will develop our musical understanding through ear training, solfege singing, and "deep listening." This course will also connect music to theory by teaching students how to compose music.

This course teaches the basic skills of 16mm film production, including camera work, editing, animation, optical printing, and preparation for a finished work in film and video. We will explore multiple ways this spatial-temporal medium can shape our perceptions of the world and help narrate stories waiting to be told. Students will submit weekly written responses to theoretical and historical readings and to screenings of films and DVDs that represent a variety of aesthetic approaches to the moving image. There will be a series of filmmaking assignments culminating in a final project.

As one recent US President noted, the new media ecosystem "means everything is true and nothing is true." Banned from all top social media platforms, including Twitter, the President's predecessor launched Truth Social as the flagship application of his social media platform, which Vanity Fair characterizes as "a cringeworthy joke." Working within the interdisciplinary field of media studies, in this course we will take a case-study approach to exploring contemporary issues related to the post-truth world order: disinformation, fake news, deepfakes, crisis actor claims, conspiracy theories, an

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream." - the song that begins with this phrase is one of the most famous songs enjoyed by many as a canon. Canon involves multiple voices (instrumentalists as well as singers) that chase after each other and together weave out a harmony and a musical texture called polyphony. It is a fun communal music-making process with a wide variety of styles (and different names, e.g., round, catch, chase), and a long profound history.

This offering of Photography Workshop I will introduce students to current practices in monochrome photography. We will cover all the basics of camera skills, framing and composition, working with ambient and artificial lighting, editing, printing, and sequencing photographic series. Students will choose to work with 35mm analog cameras or their digital counterparts to complete their assignments and projects. Labs will cover analog and digital workflows limited to monochrome applications.