Do video games function as unimportant simulations of the real? If digital games are indeed simulations, what can the time we spend playing in digital environments tell us about how other types of simulations (television, the news, the Internet) function? Are games as simulations designed specifically to deceive, distract, and/or entertain, or do video games and their predominance suggest that we have successfully destroyed and disordered our shared realities, as theorist Jean Baudrillard once melancholically predicted would happen?

The purpose of the course is to provide a common experience for Commonwealth Honors College students in their junior year. While recognizing that by the junior year students will be working in a wide variety of disciplinary areas, an interdisciplinary course like this will help honors students at the preliminary stage of thinking about a culminating senior thesis, project or capstone to experience a variety of topics and approaches that can lead to the development of their own senior culminating experience. Why a theme of innovative ideas across disciplines?

The purpose of the course is to provide a common experience for Commonwealth Honors College students in their junior year. While recognizing that by the junior year students will be working in a wide variety of disciplinary areas, an interdisciplinary course like this will help honors students at the preliminary stage of thinking about a culminating senior thesis, project or capstone to experience a variety of topics and approaches that can lead to the development of their own senior culminating experience. Why a theme of innovative ideas across disciplines?

The purpose of the course is to provide a common experience for Commonwealth Honors College students in their junior year. While recognizing that by the junior year students will be working in a wide variety of disciplinary areas, an interdisciplinary course like this will help honors students at the preliminary stage of thinking about a culminating senior thesis, project or capstone to experience a variety of topics and approaches that can lead to the development of their own senior culminating experience. Why a theme of innovative ideas across disciplines?

Throughout the planet, women create common spaces for a better world in response to threats to their livelihood. This course uses the concept ?woman? to refer to bodies feminized by power, to include both transgender and cis women. Students will analyze the axis of oppression and resistance that sit at the core of women?s experiences. Focusing on gender, sexuality, the economy, and ethnic/racial oppression will help students zero on the structural aspect of women?s organizing.

The goal of the course is to better understand randomness and uncertainty, and develop tools to make more informed decisions under uncertain situations. In the beginning of the first semester, the instructor covers some fundamental and relevant concepts from probability, decision theory, and psychology. The presentation will be made in a way accessible to students from all majors and no advanced knowledge will be required. The goal is to lay the foundations for deeper investigation by students in their theses.

In this course, students will conduct an honors thesis by creating an instrument to pursue a biological science research question. Students will be encouraged to coordinate with an existing research enterprise on campus. In the first semester, students will develop a thesis proposal and construct a prototype instrument. During the semester, students will explore case studies about creating/deploying instruments combined with hands-on activities to develop technical skills for instrument development.

In this course, students will explore disability through theory and research. First, students will be introduced to the definition and meaning of disability. Disability is a complex identity that can be viewed from a variety of social, cultural, historical, legal and political perspectives. Students will be introduced to conceptualizations of disability, models of disability, and historical perspectives as well as the intersection of disability with other social identities such as gender, sexuality, and race/ethnicity.

This course aims at reducing graduation anxiety by preparing students for their next phase. Small action steps written in weekly journal assignments bring self-designed short and long-term career goals into reality. This specialized approach allows students to plan for any next step, be it graduate school, travel, work etc. Participants will solidify practical skills and knowledge about conducting a successful job search, writing professional resumes and cover letters, interviewing, and salary negotiation.

The purpose of the course is to provide a common experience for Commonwealth Honors College students in their junior year. While recognizing that by the junior year students will be working in a wide variety of disciplinary areas, an interdisciplinary course like this will help honors students at the preliminary stage of thinking about a culminating senior thesis, project or capstone to experience a variety of topics and approaches that can lead to the development of their own senior culminating experience. Why a theme of innovative ideas across disciplines?