This first year seminar is a critical thinking boot camp. Students will learn to charitably interpret, logically reconstruct, and critically evaluate arguments. The arguments come from classic and contemporary readings in philosophy about God, free will, and morality. We will focus on questions such as: Does God exist? Is it rational to believe in God? What should I do if I want to do the right thing? When is it ok to criticize other cultures? How much do I owe to others? Do we have free will? Can we ever be held responsible for anything?

Have you ever wondered why Siri or Alexa doesn't understand things you say? Or wondered if actual robots can understand language as well as the ones we see in movies? In this seminar we will learn about social robots and what it takes for robots to converse with humans. We will read research conducted by computer scientists, linguists, and psychologists, as well as investigate representations of social robots in popular media and literature.

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 course is an introduction to theories and practices of collaborative learning for students preparing to work as mentors in the Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program (SAW). We will draw on existing research, practice sessions, class discussion, and our own writing and speaking to craft our philosophies of peer mentoring and to develop effective practical strategies.

This course is designed to introduce students to social, cultural, historical, and political perspectives on gender and its construction. Through discussion and writing, we will explore the intersections among gender, race, class, and sexuality in multiple settings and contexts. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of questions, we will consider the distinctions between sex and gender, women's economic status, the making of masculinity, sexual violence, queer movements, racism, and the challenges of feminist activism across nations, and possibilities for change.

This is a class about doing research as a feminist. We will explore questions such as: What makes feminist research feminist? What makes it research? What are the proper objects of feminist research? Who can do feminist research? What can feminist research do? Are there feminist ways of doing research? Why and how do the stories we tell in our research matter?

What do we mean when we say "queer writing" or "trans writing"? Are we talking about writing by queer and/or trans authors? Writing about queer or trans practices, identities, experience? Writing that subverts conventional forms? All of the above? In this course, we will engage these questions not theoretically but through praxis. We will read fiction, poetry, comics, creative nonfiction, and hybrid forms. Expect to encounter work that challenges you in terms of form and content. Some writers we may read include Ryka Aoki, James Baldwin, Tom Cho, Samuel R.

This course will examine the materials and techniques used in building and operating theatrical scenery. It will include prop building, rigging, and welding for the theater. Students will learn the skills to work in the scene shop interpreting scenic designs for department productions.

An introduction to the art and practice of lighting and sound design for the theater. This course will cover the basic tools and techniques of designing light and sound and provide an understanding of the designer's role in the collaborative process of producing a show. Students will have the opportunity to create their own lighting and sound designs in the Black Box classroom and present them to the class.

This course takes students through the theatrical process of creating clothing and accessories for the stage. Topics covered are hand sewing techniques, working from commercial patterns, and basic pattern drafting and draping.