This course is designed to give students a strong introduction to computer programming, with an emphasis on programming games. No prior programming experience is necessary. As the title reveals, this course particularly invites self-identified women, though all interested students are of course welcome! We will consider (and hopefully impact) the current gender imbalances in the professional world of game development. The course will include guest interviews with notable women in game programming.

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.

The goal of this class is to address the following question: How do we know what the rules of language are like? We will address this question via a close study of sound patterns of Osage, a recently extinct Native American language. The importance of language preservation and formal methods of inquiry will be underlying themes of the course. Active group work and class presentations will be key forms of evaluation. In taking this course, students will be prepared to take further courses in linguistics and related topics.

This course will introduce students to the production of animated short films with the tools and techniques of three-dimensional (3D) computer graphics. Readings and lectures will cover the theoretical foundations of the field, and the homework assignments will provide hands-on, project-based experience with production. The topics covered will include modeling (the building of 3D objects), shading (assignment of surface reflectance properties), animation (moving the objects over time), and lighting (placing and setting the properties of virtual light sources).

Worried about climate change and how we will live sustainably in the future? Join us to brainstorm and assess solutions together. This will be a course for first and second year students interested in learning how to evaluate potential solutions to current local and global environmental and social problems. The course will be co-taught by faculty across the curriculum at Hampshire and will include guest lectures from experts in the field of climate change and sustainability.

The problem of explaining how the brain enables human conscious experience remains a great mystery of human knowledge. This course is an introduction to cognitive neuroscience in which we will attempt to examine the neural underpinnings of the mind's complex processes, paying particular attention to vision, attention, and memory. Cognitive neuroscience incorporates elements of physiological psychology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology and neuropsychology.

Mediatization theory argues that as media become ubiquitous, their visibility as discrete devices lessens and their audio-visual functionalities recede into the environment. So, for example, a mirror might detect your blood pressure while you comb your hair, transmitting it to your doctor who could send instructions to your electronically enhanced pill container to change the dosage.

The majority of adults are able to read fluently. However, when children learn to read, the process is dependent on a number of skills and requires a great deal of adult guidance. In this course we will discuss the cultural importance of literacy across societies and throughout childhood. We will focus on the development of the complex skill of reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and higher-order processes that contribute to decoding and text comprehension.

Pigeons, balloons, kites, aircraft, satellites, telephones, webcams, carcams, and bodycams have been used to record moving images of regions, communities, and people. In this intermediate level video production workshop, we will look back at these images -- contemporary and historic examples produced by individuals, corporations, and international government surveillance programs-- that observe, track, and survey as we discuss secrecy, technology, and shifting attitudes towards privacy.