How does one write a life artfully, especially if it’s one’s own? This nonfiction writing workshop addresses the profound complexities, challenges, and pleasures of autobiographical work through intensive writing, reading, and discussion. The course examines how contemporary writers of “new memoir” use and refuse the conventions of the genre through a diverse array of aesthetic approaches, including innovative work that expands understanding of the genre. The attention is to craft, both in the memoirs read and those written. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required.

Learn to speak with confidence and clarity about your summer internship or research project. Connect it to you academic coursework. What have you learned? How is it useful? What are your next steps? Students will reflect on their experience and collaborate with others to generate useful knowledge. Required for the Nexus but open to all students. For more information, email nexus@mtholyoke.edu.

This interactive course combines academic inquiry and community engagement to investigate the theme of diversity and climate within STEM fields. We will begin by examining the ways in which cultural norms and practices intersect with our diverse identities and histories to shape our experiences within the STEM disciplines. How can we challenge and change existing cultures and practices to create environments where we can be our full human selves? Together we will investigate the ideas and actions of those who are changing how we construct scientific knowledge and who can engage in that work.

This course immerses students in the collaborative and creative world of makerspaces, emphasizing hands-on design, inclusivity, and mentorship. Through progressive design projects -- from initial concepts to more complex creations -- students will reflect on their learning styles, growth, and attitudes. Course readings and discussions will cover core pedagogical principles, including growth mindset, effective feedback, and addressing bias, building a foundation for inclusive teaching.

Microscopes are important tools used by technicians, medical professionals, and scientists to investigate interesting scientific questions and solve real-world problems. This course covers important microscopy basics including scale, the relationship between reality and the image, and the kind of information that can be captured with different types of microscopes. This course combines lecture and hands-on laboratory activities allowing students the opportunity to explore the basic principles of visible light, fluorescence, and electron microscopy.

Community-based learning (CBL) is a central aspect of the liberal arts curriculum -- as it facilitates student learning outside the College gates with community partners in ways that can effect social change. Such learning requires self-reflective practices, project planning and assessment, and knowledge of local histories. Through course readings, discussion, and community visitors, this class is designed to facilitate community-based learning for CBL student staff, C.A.U.S.E. leadership, student interns or future interns, as well as any student with a general interest in CBL.