This course can be summed up as: everything you wanted to know about aliens but were afraid to ask (a scientist). The course will explore the topic of extraterrestrial intelligence from the perspective of several different fields. We will look at the history of UFO sighting claims and analyze the reliability of eye-witness testimonies, explore psychological & sociological reasons behind claims of alien abductions, and analyze the current state of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) from the perspective of astronomy and planetary research.

This course will look at the way Darwin's theory of biological evolution was received in the Muslim world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and how these debates have played out to contemporary times. We will encounter early defenders of Darwin's ideas like Sayyid Ahmad Khan in British India and the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Muhammad Abduh, as well as critics such as the proponent of pan-Islamism, Jamal al-din Afghani.

This course responds to the need for knowledge, business planning and communication skills for emerging leaders in the evolving business megatrend of Sustainability. It teaches a proven method in business today of developing and delivering a quick convincing business plan that will engage, educate and entice potential stakeholders and investors to provide commitment, capital or resources for projects with impact.

This seminar is designed for graduate students who are interested in exploring critical literacies as sociocultural and sociopolitical practices across languages, literacies, and contexts, as well as considering the implications of critical literacies theories and pedagogies for teaching and research. We will examine the "critical" in critical literacies through historicizing and defining these practices in schools, communities, and societies. We will juxtapose critical literacies with multiliteracies and multimodalities to understand how these pedagogies converge and diverge.