This course offers a dynamic exploration of Cuban dance, focusing on styles deeply connected to Black identity and culture. Students delve into the rich history, spirituality, and artistry of Afro-Cuban dance forms rooted in African ethnic groups such as the Bantu, Yoruba, and Fon. These traditions have profoundly shaped Latin American dance and continue influencing global culture today. Through hands-on learning and live drumming, students experience the intricate rhythms and vibrant movements that transcend time and borders, and merge into contemporary popular culture.

This course offers in-depth exploration of embodied West African movement principles and their socio-historical and cultural contexts. Students will study select West African movements and rhythms, engaging with a growing genre influenced by these traditions. Students will refine their skills and knowledge of traditional African dance performances and their rhythms. They will examine both traditional and neo-traditional performances to understand the philosophical foundations rooted in African cosmologies.

Once upon a time, the whole world was poor. Why is that no longer true? Since the Solow growth model was developed in the 1950s, we have known that the primary engine for economic growth is technological change. There has been a vast amount of research since the mid-1990s that has expanded our understanding of the mechanisms of economic growth, what creates technological change and how it affects economies. What is the difference between countries that have become rich and those that have not? Is there something countries can do to increase their economic growth?

What can stories about Buddhists teach us about Buddhism, and what can they teach us about ourselves and the human condition? This course explores Buddhist thought and practice through the lens of fiction, as it is portrayed and represented in literature and film. Each week we will focus on a single Buddhist theme through two different media (one film and one novel), considering it through a variety of perspectives, voices, and cultural contexts.

This course explores the relationship between Buddhism and the environment, considering how Buddhist beliefs and practices can help us better understand and respond to the climate crisis. We will ask such questions as: Is there room for science and religion in eco-activism? What are the risks of including religious ethics in secular activist movements? Is there such a thing as "Buddhist ethics"? What can meditation and mindfulness actually accomplish?

This course explores the idea of "the self" and "the subject" by reading autobiographical and memoir writing by Black authors. Through an engagement with some criticism on the role of slavery in staffing the sense of self-possession accorded to the individual subject, we will think together about how autobiographical forms of writing function in the tradition of black thought and letters.

Starting with Ancient Rome, familial ties always played a strong role in Italian society. This course examines the concept of family through the centuries and through cultural, literary and historical changes. We will cover the Roman family, the idea of family in the Risorgimento, the Fascist family, the modern and post-modern family, Michela Murgia's idea of queer family, and more. Authors and directors include Murgia, Boccaccio, Goldoni, Manzoni, De Filippo, Franchi, Sfinge, Saraceno, Visconti, Scola.

In this course, we study the most pressing ethical concerns relating to emerging technology and envision novel policy solutions to address them. Existing regulatory and policy instruments are often unable to provide sufficient oversight for emerging technology. Can legal anti-discrimination doctrine address biased algorithmic decision-making systems? How does generative artificial intelligence challenge traditional ways of thinking about intellectual property? Do we have rights over the personal data that private firms collect about us?

Caligula was a god (or so he thought); Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Commodus dressed as a gladiator and fought man and beast in the arena. The historical tradition of Rome is replete with stories about eccentric and insane emperors whose scandalous reigns raise questions about the nature of the emperor's power and his role in administering the empire.

Caligula was a god (or so he thought); Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Commodus dressed as a gladiator and fought man and beast in the arena. The historical tradition of Rome is replete with stories about eccentric and insane emperors whose scandalous reigns raise questions about the nature of the emperor's power and his role in administering the empire.