Introductory study of dance composition, including movement research, spatial design, rhythmic phrasing, musical forms, and performance. Enrollment limited to 20.

This studio course offers technique training in any of the dance forms from Africa and the African Diaspora. The physical study of the form is contextualized socially, culturally, and historically, favoring an interdisciplinary perspective. Through the course, students approach the study of dance as a catalyst for cultural empowerment and social change. Topics course. Enrollment limited to 30: This course introduces West African dance, music and song as a traditional mode of expression in various West African countries.

This course serves as an accessible dance course for all students interested in dance, regardless of ability and dance experience. Throughout the semester, students are introduced to a variety of dance forms and approaches (contemporary dance, salsa, jazz/funk, improvisation). The course promotes the development of dancing skills, aesthetic appreciation, community connection and cultural literacy. In these studio classes, students learn dance techniques while cultivating physical competencies, artistic creativity and bodily expressivity as a part of a community experience.

Enrollment limited to 30.

Enrollment limited to 25.

Topics course. Computational biology is a rapidly emerging multidisciplinary field that uses techniques from computer science, applied mathematics and statistics to address problems inspired by biology. This seminar exposes students to a variety of topics of current interest in molecular computing and bioinformatics. : Proteins are the building blocks of life, as well as marvelous objects to study mathematically and computationally.

Same as SDS 235. Visual analytics techniques can help people to derive insight from massive, dynamic, ambiguous and often conflicting data. During this course, students learn the foundations of the emerging, multidisciplinary field of visual analytics and apply these techniques toward a focused research problem in a domain of personal interest. Students may elect to take SDS 235 as a programming intensive course (prerequisite: CSC 212). In this track, students learn to use R, Python and HTML5/JavaScript to develop custom visual analytic tools.

Visual analytics techniques can help people to derive insight from massive, dynamic, ambiguous and often conflicting data. During this course, students learn the foundations of the emerging, multidisciplinary field of visual analytics and apply these techniques toward a focused research problem in a domain of personal interest. Students may elect to take SDS 235 as a programming intensive course (prerequisite: CSC 212). In this track, students learn to use R, Python and HTML5/JavaScript to develop custom visual analytic tools.

Topics course: How do we represent pandemics? How do these representations implicate science, politics and society? The prevalent ‘contagion’ frame is a story about seeing the microbe as the enemy, erasing or downplaying human agency and practices (especially the expansion into new ecosystems), and affirming epidemiology and medical science as the only solution. The frame carries over into politics and culture and provides a way to translate the science of contagious disease into social terms that influence the public and also public policy.

Topics course: This course explores—through reading, viewing and making,—theatre created using documentary sources, including interviews, found texts, historical documents, and other sources. We will explore the dramatic, social, and political implications of this work, while considering notions of authenticity and authority derived from direct testimony, documentary sources, and community involvement. We will also explore the tension between maintaining truth and creating dramatic shape, theatricality, and audience engagement.