ST- Frontiers in Biotechnology

The goal of this course is to educate students about the scientific advances and resulting tools that have allowed the biotech revolution, to chronicle the implementation of recent advances in biotechnology, and to identify those areas of great unmet need in which biotechnology can play a major role in the future. Frontiers in Biotechnology comprises eight individual units focusing on what we view to be eight of the most cutting edge advances in biotechnology. We have designed the course around the concepts that `Biotechnology?

T-TranspacificArchive/Americas

This course explores literary and cultural productions from the Americas concerning transpacific histories and imaginaries, spanning from the Spanish colonial era to the present. The course discussions approach issues such as imperialism, globalization, modernization, capitalism and race/gender formations by centering transnational connections across Latin America, U.S. Latinx communities and Asia.

Lives of the Scientists

Before they got famous, every celebrated scientist was just some person. Perhaps they did amazing work in their time, but these people did not spring fully formed from the mind of God. Many of them were strange and unusual. Newton would go to taverns in disguise to catch counterfeiters, as part of his day job at the Royal Mint. Niels Bohr loved cowboy movies but always had a hard time following the plot. Don Quixote was one of Einstein's favorite books. In this course, we will read about the lives and work of 24 scientists from across the span of history.

Learning With @through Arts

In mainstream U.S. culture, the arts are frequently considered secondary rather than integral to education, leading to limited resources and recognition. This is often a disadvantage for those who learn best through creative, hands-on learning. In this course we will explore the concept of project-based learning with and through the arts. We will consider theories and practices aligned with arts integration.

Health/Care and Society

Who gets sick? Who stays sick, who gets well again, and why? What do "sick" and "well" even mean? This course is designed to support your creative and critical engagement with issues related to justice and oppression in the context of healthcare. We will explore constructs of health, illness, dis/ability, identity, and power through a transdisciplinary lens, drawing on history, anthropology, and epidemiology, as well as science fiction, poetry, and film.

Black Genius

(Offered as ENGL 163 and BLST 163) This seminar introduces students to the study of African American arts and expressive culture. Deploying a broad, interdisciplinary approach, we survey influential works of twentieth and twenty-first century African American fiction, music, drama, painting, and photography in order to understand the tendencies and trends associated with what scholars sometimes refer to as “the black aesthetic.” We will pay particular attention to “masterpiece” works—i.e. extraordinary works of art that have been widely acknowledged as watershed, influential, and enduring.

Black Latinas

(Offered as BLST 350 [CLA/D], AMST 349 and LLAS 350) “Black Latinas” surveys the history of Black women in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Black Latinas in the United States. The course begins with a brief historical survey of Afro-Latin America and then explores the experiences of Black women through different contemporary movements. They include Black Latina feminisms, gender roles, Black Power movements, environmental activism, gentrification, workers’ rights, electoral politics, police brutality, anti-black Latino bias, and media and representation.

Black Latinas

(Offered as BLST 350 [CLA/D], AMST 349 and LLAS 350) “Black Latinas” surveys the history of Black women in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Black Latinas in the United States. The course begins with a brief historical survey of Afro-Latin America and then explores the experiences of Black women through different contemporary movements. They include Black Latina feminisms, gender roles, Black Power movements, environmental activism, gentrification, workers’ rights, electoral politics, police brutality, anti-black Latino bias, and media and representation.

Imagining History

(Offered as AMST-386 and ENGL-413)  In this course, we will consider both historical fiction and creative nonfiction as literary forms that enable us to re-imagine American history. We will read closely, deeply and collaboratively. How do different authors approach historical research and storytelling? What is the role of the imagination in historical recovery? How can writing, reading, and translation enable us to engage critically and creatively with difficult, complex histories and legacies of enslavement and colonization?

War and Theater

How does war look through the eyes of playwrights?  For millennia, playwrights have responded to the world around them, and never with more criticism and empathy than during wartime. Risking exile, imprisonment, or execution, playwrights have spoken out against the self-serving interests of governments and colonial imperialists as a way to right moral and ethical wrongs. What does it mean to create art when your world is burning down around you? How do you rebuild out of the rubble and ashes once the smoke clears?

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