The four basic skills -- speaking, reading, writing, and understanding Italian. For those with no previous experience in the language.

The four basic skills -- speaking, reading, writing, and understanding Italian. For those with no previous experience in the language.

The four basic skills -- speaking, reading, writing, and understanding Italian. For those with no previous experience in the language.

This course introduces the use of computational methods for studying culture and society. We will learn how to transform textual and visual material into data, and how we can explore and analyze this data using machine learning and statistical models as both quantitative and qualitative tools. We will also survey and discuss how these methods are applied within the humanities and social sciences, as well as reflect on the challenges, limitations, and ethical issues that arise in the computational study of culture and society.

The Commonwealth Honors College thesis or project is intended to provide students with the opportunity to work closely with faculty members to define and carry out in-depth research or creative endeavors. It provides excellent preparation for students who intend to continue their education through graduate study or begin their professional careers. The student works closely with their 499Y Honors Research sponsor to pursue research on a topic or question of special interest to them in preparation for writing a 499T Honors Thesis or completing a 499P Honors Project.

Honors Thesis expectations are high. The intended end-product is a traditional research manuscript with accompanying artifact(s), all theses: - are 6 credits or more of sustained research on a single topic, typically conducted over two semesters. - begin with creative inquiry and systematic research. - include documentation of substantive scholarly endeavor. - culminate in an oral defense or other form of public presentation.

Honors Project expectations are high. The intended end-product is a traditional project manuscript with accompanying artifact(s), all projects: - are 6 credits or more of sustained research on a single topic, typically conducted over two semesters. - begin with creative inquiry and systematic research. - include documentation of substantive scholarly endeavor. - culminate in an oral defense or other form of public presentation.

This is a stand-alone independent study designed by the student and faculty sponsor that involves frequent interaction between instructor and student. Qualitative and quantitative enrichment must be evident on the proposed contract before consent is given to undertake the study.