In this course we will investigate how the natural world operates and examine how human societies interact with Earth. Class discussions and weekly projects will introduce the major concepts and techniques of earth science, environmental sciences, and resource management, providing grounding in the geosciences and forming a basis for the interdisciplinary study of environmental topics. We will explore the history of our planet and earth-shaping processes such as plate tectonics, glaciations, and volcanoes.

Students and teachers spend most of their time reading and writing, but how often do we stop to think about what these acts entail, where they originated, how they have changed? Is the media revolution that we are experiencing one of degree or kind? Will the shift to electronic media mean not just the end of the book, but also the radical transformation of authorship and publishing, indeed, of the very ways that we read, research, and think?

In this course, students will enter dance and dance making as vehicles for embodied research and interdisciplinary dialogue. Over the semester, we will make dances that move alongside other disciplines. We will develop choreography while studying narrative and poetic forms, utilize visual arts tools and musical structures, explore intersections with architecture and environmental studies and more. Visits with guest artists, scholars, and students in other courses will help us launch these inquiries.

As a result of cognitive psychology and education research, we have an excellent understanding of human learning, its social and cultural nature, and the varied approaches to teaching, testing and assessment that lead to success. There is strong evidence that implementing these ideas would improve learning for all, including those who have been under-resourced. In this seminar we will work to understand the findings by reading, discussing, and evaluating a selection of theoretical works and primary research from cognitive psychology and examine their practical applications to education.