Saudi Arabia recently became the first nation to grant citizenship to a female cyborg, prompting criticism that the robot now has more rights than women in the country. This class will explore issues at the intersections of race, power, gender, sexuality, and technology. We will read theorists such as Wendy Chun and Lisa Nakamura on race and technology, as well as Anne Cheng's work on race, aesthetics, and the nonhuman. We will also consider films such as Ex Machina and The Ghost in the Shell against Koreeda's Air Doll, and Kwak Jae-Yong's Cyborg, She.

In this course, students will learn the fundamental principles of probabilistic infectious disease models. Topics covered will include the Reed-Frost epidemic model, epidemic branching process models, and Markov chain susceptible-infected-recovered models. Specific topics may include reproduction numbers of diseases, the expected size of an epidemic, and the probability an epidemic will die out. The statistical software package R will be used to implement key models from the class on real-world epidemic data sets.

"Gogol was a strange creature, but genius is always strange." - Vladimir Nabokov. Nikolai Gogol was one of Russia's greatest and most enigmatic writers. Revered by Dostoevsky, he created a literary universe that has lost none of its original power despite the passage of time. This course will trace the development of Gogol's genius from his early Ukrainian stories, through his tales of St. Petersburg, to his comic masterpiece Dead Souls.

How is the brain shaped by our environment? How do everyday experiences affect how we process and experience the world? This course explores the mechanisms of plasticity within the brain from conception through adulthood and the factors that influence them. The course will include topics such as the effects of environmental toxins on the brain, reorganization of the brain following injury, how traumatic events impact neurotransmitter systems, and how these changes affect behavior. In doing so this course will cover developmental, structural, functional and chemical plasticity.

We are constantly hearing about drugs in the media, both those used for the treatment of mental health challenges as well as those used for recreation. But beyond the media, what do we know about how drugs (both illicit and prescription) affect the brain, neurocircuitry, and behavior? In this course we will explore neuropharmacology in the context of clinical disorders such as schizophrenia and affective disorders as well as in substance use and addiction.

We center "health" as a critical concept in political theory and practice. "Health" has emerged as a social value of many Western democracies, especially with advancements in medical science, and often refers to a healthy society or debate. Health can be a moral good or a resource to pursue and receive state support for. But health can also be elusive for many people and its meaning can shift based on experience. Nevertheless, health can inform who we think of as a citizen, leader, parent, adult, or even person.

What is the African diaspora? Where is the African diaspora? Who is from the African diaspora? How does the African diaspora move, develop, and change, and how has African diaspora been shaped and reshaped over time? This course is a historical, conceptual, and thematic examination of the African diaspora around the world.

This course will cover the functioning of neural circuits in the brain and how they give rise to cognition and behavior. Using primary literature and activities, students will delve into current topics in systems neuroscience. Labs will provide exposure and training in common neuroscience techniques, practice in thinking like a scientist, and an appreciation for how basic research can lead to major advances in the treatment of disease.

This course introduces students to the key concepts and central questions informing the field of Ethnic Studies in K-12 educational settings. Despite the radical origins of Ethnic Studies, the field must navigate mainstream education reform efforts, which continues to rely on dominant conceptualizations of literacy and knowledge as well as acritical visions for nation-building and global citizenship. The course will explore the socio-political conditions that underscore the urgency for Ethnic Studies and outline the pedagogical orientation of Ethnic Studies programs.