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This course strengthens students' observational abilities and deepens their appreciation of the visual arts through close study of artworks depicting sickness, health, injury, and medical practices. Drawing on work from diverse cultures and time periods, it highlights the challenges of observing and diagnosing people of varied cultural, racial, and gender backgrounds. The course uses the power of visual art to cultivate the careful observation, communication, and analytical skills essential in medical professions.

This course will provide students with the knowledge and tools to create their own animations using Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. Techniques covered include (but are not limited to) isolating objects and animating layers, working with masks and shapes, photographic/collage approaches, including distorting/animating with the Puppet Tools, and working with 2D images in 3D space. Sound design, composition, editing techniques, color grading, and other image-making principles will be explored through a series of short animation experiments. In each project, students will be challenged to develop aesthetically interesting, visually abstract approaches to their ideas. No previous video editing experience is required.

This survey course introduces Chinese history and cultural traditions from ancient times to 1911, outlining historical trends such as Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, dynastic cycles, literati culture, traditional gender roles, and interactions with the West. We will analyze a variety of primary sources (in English translation), including poetry, fiction, philosophical writings, first-person accounts, and visual art. No pre-requisites.

This course traces major trends in Chinese martial arts cinema, including works from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and beyond. We analyze films from multiple angles, including aesthetics, historical context, production, circulation, and adaptation. We consider how films articulate diverse identities, operating in relation to national and transnational cultural institutions. All films include English subtitles. Film screenings in class Wednesdays 2:10-4:00.

Trade politics is a complex nexus of domestic and international politics, economic conditions, global and regional institutions, business interests, and civil society. This course provides students with both theoretical foundations and practical tools to analyze trade politics. We begin with the international trade system, focusing on policies for trade in goods andservices, as well as tariffs and non-tariff barriers. We will examine how these policies shape international relations and connect them to current debates such as the trade wars. We then turn to the winners and losers of trade. Who benefits financially from trade, and whobears the costs? How do factors such as gender, race, political ideology, education, and occupation shape public opinion toward trade? We will consider how people from diverse backgrounds understand and react to global trade, and how public attitudes influence political, economic, and social policies. Finally, students will gain quantitative literacy by learning MS Excel for data management and visualization. Students will analyze trade data from international organizations and comparetrade developments in the Global North and South. Students will also design, analyze, and present survey data. The course concludes by reflecting on trade's impact on development andequality. There are no prerequisites. Students should come prepared for active participation in student-centered learning

This course offers an extended study of the social and political philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). As someone who dedicated his life's work to studying "the Negro problem" and "the program of Negro freedom," Du Bois's reflections on racial discrimination, social, political, and economic inequality, the possibility of racial integration, and the meaning of racial self-determination continue to inform how we think about racial justice and injustice in the U.S. The course focuses on three main questions in Du Bois's thought. The first question has to do with the psychology of race. That is, what motivates white racial prejudice? And how does racial discrimination affect Black people's relation towards the self and others? The second question regards social, political, and economic inequality. Do poor whites and poor Blacks suffer from the same kind of inequality? Or are there specific social factors that explain the unequal distribution of inequality in the U.S.? Lastly, the third question regards integration and self-determination. Is racial integration possible in the U.S.? Is Black self-determination compatible with racial integration? While the course centers on Du Bois as a historical thinker, we will focus on how his social and political philosophy can help us think about our present racial relations.

Police, Investigators, and Spies: Histories of Police, the FBI, and the CIA Police, investigators, and spies have a coveted space within U.S. politics and cultural imagination. This is reflected in the budgets for these institutions at the federal, state, and local levels as well as their place in cultural texts such as films and television shows. In this class, students will be invited to explore the role of police, the FBI, and the CIA within the United States and the globe through an engagement with academic histories as well as primary source materials, including documents produced by and about the institutions.

Immense power rested in the hands of Rome's emperors. And while their peccadillos tend to dominate our imaginations today, in antiquity emperors' public images were carefully curated in a way that would make Madison Avenue ad agencies proud. Key in this endeavor was the deployment of artwork and building projects, which ranged from musclebound portraits and gilded building complexes to infrastructure that we might initially consider mundane, such as aqueducts and sewers. This course travels back in time to investigate the strategies that the imperial court used to claim, justify, and maintain its power within the city of Rome itself. To that end, part of our consideration will revolve around the monuments' multiple audiences - rivals to power, traditionalists, and a cosmopolitan population drawn from every corner of the empire. Short papers, quizzes, and exams form the backbone of evaluation for the course.

Studies show that reading poetry and fiction about illness helps both doctors and patients. More and more medical schools in the U.S. require a "Narrative Medicine" course, recognizing that language has the capacity to comfort us in times of need. How do writers, poets, filmmakers, visual artists, and historians portray the sick? What social, cultural, psychological, and medical issues do they raise in these portrayals? We will read, watch, and discuss creative depictions of AIDS, Covid 19, Chagas disease, and other conditions as well as texts about mental health. How have societies around the world classified sickness and how have they treated bodies and minds that are unwell? How have communities of color, women, and LGBTQ patients described their hospitalizations and diagnoses? This is an interdisciplinary class that includes literary analysis, philosophy, history, political science, global health, epidemiology, and other disciplines. The class will host visiting speakers. It will also have a significant community engagement component.

In this course we will study the history of the queer theatre movement and how queer theatre makers were impacted by different moments in American theatre history. Students will be asked to examine how queerness and the societal acceptability of queerness impacts the work of artists, American theatre, and queer performance. Students will also be asked to examine their own biases in relation to different forms of queer performance.

Studies show that reading poetry and fiction about illness helps both doctors and patients. More and more medical schools in the U.S. require a "Narrative Medicine" course, recognizing that language has the capacity to comfort us in times of need. How do writers, poets, filmmakers, visual artists, and historians portray the sick? What social, cultural, psychological, and medical issues do they raise in these portrayals? We will read, watch, and discuss creative depictions of AIDS, Covid 19, Chagas disease, and other conditions as well as texts about mental health. How have societies around the world classified sickness and how have they treated bodies and minds that are unwell? How have communities of color, women, and LGBTQ patients described their hospitalizations and diagnoses? This is an interdisciplinary class that includes literary analysis, philosophy, history, political science, global health, epidemiology, and other disciplines. The class will host visiting speakers. It will also have a significant community engagement component.

What is an illegal drug? This course examines the history of drugs in society by first asking what an illegal drug or intoxicant might be. The class will then consider how different cultures have accepted or rejected drugs based on their usefulness or danger to the social order. We will examine changing cultural attitudes toward drugs, the rise of modern drug regulation, and the development of pharmaceutical drugs. Key topics will include: The growth and regulation of the opium trade in the 19th century; Drugs and Sports; Alcohol policies in the 19th and early 20th centuries; The global war on drugs; Appreciation for Cannabis, Alcohol, Meth, Viagra, Chocolate, and Coffee; The use and administration of LSD and amphetamines by various governmental agencies. This course is suitable for first-year and advanced students interested in history, sociology, and public health. There is no immersion trip associated with this course, but to be blunt, in addition to short assignments, in-class experiments, and two exams, students will have a daily dose of reading and discussion.

How has the Internet changed what we know about the past? In this hands-on course, we'll answer that question by focusing on the history of immigration. We'll roll up our sleeves and collaboratively play--and sometimes fail--with AI chatbots, online archives, and digital narration tools. Throughout, we'll think about the implications of doing immigration history on the Internet, including the ethical challenges of sharing immigrants' stories and reducing human lives to data. We'll conclude the semester with a Web-based research project. No experience in computer science, digital media, or migration history required, although an interest in at least one of these is recommended!

What is an illegal drug? This course examines the history of drugs in society by first asking what an illegal drug or intoxicant might be. The class will then consider how different cultures have accepted or rejected drugs based on their usefulness or danger to the social order. We will examine changing cultural attitudes toward drugs, the rise of modern drug regulation, and the development of pharmaceutical drugs. Key topics will include: The growth and regulation of the opium trade in the 19th century; Drugs and Sports; Alcohol policies in the 19th and early 20th centuries; The global war on drugs; Appreciation for Cannabis, Alcohol, Meth, Viagra, Chocolate, and Coffee; The use and administration of LSD and amphetamines by various governmental agencies. This course is suitable for first-year and advanced students interested in history, sociology, and public health. There is no immersion trip associated with this course, but to be blunt, in addition to short assignments, in-class experiments, and two exams, students will have a daily dose of reading and discussion.

Police, Investigators, and Spies: Histories of Police, the FBI, and the CIA Police, investigators, and spies have a coveted space within U.S. politics and cultural imagination. This is reflected in the budgets for these institutions at the federal, state, and local levels as well as their place in cultural texts such as films and television shows. In this class, students will be invited to explore the role of police, the FBI, and the CIA within the United States and the globe through an engagement with academic histories as well as primary source materials, including documents produced by and about the institutions.

Immense power rested in the hands of Rome's emperors. And while their peccadillos tend to dominate our imaginations today, in antiquity emperors' public images were carefully curated in a way that would make Madison Avenue ad agencies proud. Key in this endeavor was the deployment of artwork and building projects, which ranged from musclebound portraits and gilded building complexes to infrastructure that we might initially consider mundane, such as aqueducts and sewers. This course travels back in time to investigate the strategies that the imperial court used to claim, justify, and maintain its power within the city of Rome itself. To that end, part of our consideration will revolve around the monuments' multiple audiences - rivals to power, traditionalists, and a cosmopolitan population drawn from every corner of the empire. Short papers, quizzes, and exams form the backbone of evaluation for the course.

This survey course introduces Chinese history and cultural traditions from ancient times to 1911, outlining historical trends such as Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, dynastic cycles, literati culture, traditional gender roles, and interactions with the West. We will analyze a variety of primary sources (in English translation), including poetry, fiction, philosophical writings, first-person accounts, and visual art. No pre-requisites.

Studies show that reading poetry and fiction about illness helps both doctors and patients. More and more medical schools in the U.S. require a "Narrative Medicine" course, recognizing that language has the capacity to comfort us in times of need. How do writers, poets, filmmakers, visual artists, and historians portray the sick? What social, cultural, psychological, and medical issues do they raise in these portrayals? We will read, watch, and discuss creative depictions of AIDS, Covid 19, Chagas disease, and other conditions as well as texts about mental health. How have societies around the world classified sickness and how have they treated bodies and minds that are unwell? How have communities of color, women, and LGBTQ patients described their hospitalizations and diagnoses? This is an interdisciplinary class that includes literary analysis, philosophy, history, political science, global health, epidemiology, and other disciplines. The class will host visiting speakers. It will also have a significant community engagement component.

How has the Internet changed what we know about the past? In this hands-on course, we'll answer that question by focusing on the history of immigration. We'll roll up our sleeves and collaboratively play--and sometimes fail--with AI chatbots, online archives, and digital narration tools. Throughout, we'll think about the implications of doing immigration history on the Internet, including the ethical challenges of sharing immigrants' stories and reducing human lives to data. We'll conclude the semester with a Web-based research project. No experience in computer science, digital media, or migration history required, although an interest in at least one of these is recommended!

This is an ROTC course held on the campus of Purdue University. It meets on Purdue's academic calendar. Fall Semester 2026 at Purdue is from August 24 - December 19, 2026. Purdue's Fall Break 2026 is October 12-13, 2026. Purdue's academic calendar is at https://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=336 82.

This is an ROTC course held on the campus of Purdue University. It meets on Purdue's academic calendar. Fall Semester 2026 at Purdue is from August 24 - December 19, 2026. Purdue's Fall Break 2026 is October 12-13, 2026. Purdue's academic calendar is at https://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=336 82.

This is an ROTC course held on the campus of Purdue University. It meets on Purdue's academic calendar. Fall Semester 2026 at Purdue is from August 24 - December 19, 2026. Purdue's Fall Break 2026 is October 12-13, 2026. Purdue's academic calendar is at https://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=336 82.

This is an ROTC course held on the campus of Purdue University. It meets on Purdue's academic calendar. Fall Semester 2026 at Purdue is from August 24 - December 19, 2026. Purdue's Fall Break 2026 is October 12-13, 2026. Purdue's academic calendar is at https://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=336 82.

This is an ROTC course held on the campus of Purdue University. It meets on Purdue's academic calendar. Fall Semester 2026 at Purdue is from August 24 - December 19, 2026. Purdue's Fall Break 2026 is October 12-13, 2026. Purdue's academic calendar is at https://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=336 82.

This is an ROTC course held on the campus of Purdue University. It meets on Purdue's academic calendar. Fall Semester 2026 at Purdue is from August 24 - December 19, 2026. Purdue's Fall Break 2026 is October 12-13, 2026. Purdue's academic calendar is at https://catalog.purdue.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=336 82.

This course explores how sound (music, noise, silence, and voice) shapes the experience of fear in cinema. Drawing from music, philosophy, media studies, and cultural theory, students will examine how sound design and film scoring help construct suspense, dread, shock, and atmosphere from early cinema to experimental and contemporary film. Topics include the music of cinematic tension, the psychology and uncanny aesthetics of noise, the role of sound production and music in filmmaking, and the cultural implications of sound and fear. Students will learn through screenings, analysis, discussion, and hands-on projects creating and recording scary soundtracks. No prior music or film training is required.

The defining element of a 'Wabash Man' is a song. If you met every graduate of our college, you would find rich people and poor people, black people and white people, athletes and klutzes, people from dozens of countries around the world, and even a few women. But you would be hard pressed to find a Wabash graduate who can't at least stumble through the words of "Old Wabash." Music is about inclusion. But by defining who belongs, it also defines those who don't. Most Americans struggle to sing the Star Spangled Banner. But even those who don't speak English can recite the first four words! If border patrol agents used the words to "Yankee Doodle" as a shibboleth for entry, it's hard to see how a non-citizen would ever get in. Music is inherently political. Even when it's not explicitly so, it reflects the society that produces it, the audience that listens to it, and the means by which the former finds the latter. Early German nationalists knew that Beethoven could help them define who was German. Later German nationalists knew that too. African Americans and Jews took music from the plantations and shtetls they left behind, fashioning it into Blues and Jazz when Classical conservatories wouldn't teach them and 'respectable' concert halls wouldn't let them perform. They found a wider audience when people like Elvis Presley 'borrowed' their songs, recorded them, and made them famous. That music went on to define a generation defined by its counter-cultural ethos - and was brought back to Africa and the Caribbean (from whence it once came) where national heroes like Bob Marley and Fela Kuti used it to resist colonial oppression and dictatorship. Modern leaders listened and learned from this, which is why Korea promotes K-pop and Putin imprisons Pussy Riot. It's also why Bruce Springsteen objected to Ronald Reagan's use of "Born in the USA" - and why Ronald Reagan evidently didn't know (or didn't care about) the words. This course will focus on musical repertory related to specific regimes, societies, movements, and historical periods. The course will require students to examine music as propaganda and as protest. It will also invite students to engage with contemporary debates on such issues as censorship, cultural appropriation, political violence, and intellectual property. Of particular interest will be the role of music in the development of 19th Century European Nationalisms (as with Beethoven and Wagner); the inseparable relationship between music and politics in African and Afro-Caribbean anti-Imperialism (as with Fela Kuti and Bob Marley); and the role of music in the American Civil Rights movement. Our goal is for students to understand the relationship between music and politics both historically and in their own lifetimes, equipping them to analyze music that is both political and politicized.

Could a computer genuinely think? Are we in a simulation? Is there a God? Are we free to choose how we will act in the world? What do we owe to one another, and to ourselves? Is it really a good idea to think critically, or should we trust what experts tell us? Could a banana duct-taped to a wall really be a work of art? How would you go about answering these questions? Philosophers think through these questions, and many others, by developing and critiquing arguments for possible answers to them. This course will serve as an introduction to philosophy via an in-depth study of philosophical arguments such as these. In the course, you will learn to use argument-mapping software to clearly and precisely articulate the structure of philosophical arguments so that you can understand and evaluate them more effectively. In addition to introducing you to some fascinating philosophical topics, this course will greatly improve your skills in reading and writing texts (including articles and papers for other classes!) that contain arguments. I'd also like to describe what this course will be about by offering a point of caution about it. This course will be difficult. We will work slowly and pay close attention to the details. These are valuable habits that are very hard to practice in today's technological milieu. Be honest with yourself: When's the last time you really gave your full attention to something challenging? We're going to practice focusing on things that are very difficult, and you will get better at it throughout the course. But it will feel very slow, and very laborious at times. I hope you will trust me that the payoff will be worth it.

This course offers an extended study of the social and political philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). As someone who dedicated his life's work to studying "the Negro problem" and "the program of Negro freedom," Du Bois's reflections on racial discrimination, social, political, and economic inequality, the possibility of racial integration, and the meaning of racial self-determination continue to inform how we think about racial justice and injustice in the U.S. The course focuses on three main questions in Du Bois's thought. The first question has to do with the psychology of race. That is, what motivates white racial prejudice? And how does racial discrimination affect Black people's relation towards the self and others? The second question regards social, political, and economic inequality. Do poor whites and poor Blacks suffer from the same kind of inequality? Or are there specific social factors that explain the unequal distribution of inequality in the U.S.? Lastly, the third question regards integration and self-determination. Is racial integration possible in the U.S.? Is Black self-determination compatible with racial integration? While the course centers on Du Bois as a historical thinker, we will focus on how his social and political philosophy can help us think about our present racial relations.

What is the relationship between the three pounds of wet biomass in your skull and the fact that you understand the sentence that you are currently reading? This question, as with many good philosophical questions, is simple to state but very difficult to answer. On the one hand, you are a thinking being: you have thoughts, feelings, desires, wishes, and a rich inner mental life to which you alone have access. There is something that it is like to be you. On the other hand, you are a physical being: you are composed primarily of water and carbon, and constitute a complex system of biochemical reactions. You are the sort of thing that can be studied, and whose behavior can be explained, by biochemistry, neuroscience, and psychology. What are we to make of these two aspects of ourselves? In this course, we will survey the major theories in analytic philosophy of mind as frameworks for understanding the mind and its place in nature. We will then bring these frameworks to bear on one of the most pressing philosophical questions of our moment: could an artificial system be conscious, and if so, how would we know? This question is no longer merely hypothetical. Contemporary AI systems are trained on vast amounts of data and develop from that training in ways that even their creators cannot predict. Is it possible that such systems could develop functional analogs to conscious states; internal states that influence their behavior in ways that parallel human conscious experience? Whether such states could constitute genuine experience, or merely its simulacrum, is precisely the kind of question that the philosophy of mind is uniquely equipped to address.

Many of interesting questions in physics are often best approached using computational tools. This half-credit course will be an introduction to simple methods of computer simulation, including Monte Carlo simulations, linear systems, root finding, among other topics. A student, having completed this course, will be able to create small programs in Python to simulate problems arising in physics or engineering, explain how the underlying numerical techniques function and how they are expressed in code, be able to document his code and explain it to others, and understand the advantages and disadvantages in time and complexity of various methods. This is a first-semester course.

This course offers an extended study of the social and political philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). As someone who dedicated his life's work to studying "the Negro problem" and "the program of Negro freedom," Du Bois's reflections on racial discrimination, social, political, and economic inequality, the possibility of racial integration, and the meaning of racial self-determination continue to inform how we think about racial justice and injustice in the U.S. The course focuses on three main questions in Du Bois's thought. The first question has to do with the psychology of race. That is, what motivates white racial prejudice? And how does racial discrimination affect Black people's relation towards the self and others? The second question regards social, political, and economic inequality. Do poor whites and poor Blacks suffer from the same kind of inequality? Or are there specific social factors that explain the unequal distribution of inequality in the U.S.? Lastly, the third question regards integration and self-determination. Is racial integration possible in the U.S.? Is Black self-determination compatible with racial integration? While the course centers on Du Bois as a historical thinker, we will focus on how his social and political philosophy can help us think about our present racial relations.

Trade politics is a complex nexus of domestic and international politics, economic conditions, global and regional institutions, business interests, and civil society. This course provides students with both theoretical foundations and practical tools to analyze trade politics. We begin with the international trade system, focusing on policies for trade in goods andservices, as well as tariffs and non-tariff barriers. We will examine how these policies shape international relations and connect them to current debates such as the trade wars. We then turn to the winners and losers of trade. Who benefits financially from trade, and whobears the costs? How do factors such as gender, race, political ideology, education, and occupation shape public opinion toward trade? We will consider how people from diverse backgrounds understand and react to global trade, and how public attitudes influence political, economic, and social policies. Finally, students will gain quantitative literacy by learning MS Excel for data management and visualization. Students will analyze trade data from international organizations and comparetrade developments in the Global North and South. Students will also design, analyze, and present survey data. The course concludes by reflecting on trade's impact on development andequality. There are no prerequisites. Students should come prepared for active participation in student-centered learning

Will Democrats take control of Congress at the end of this year, or will Republicans manage to hold on to their slim margins in the House and Senate? How will political parties and candidates mount their congressional election campaigns, and how will voters, donors, and other political actors respond? What will the implications be for President Trump's agenda, the 2028 presidential election, and the future of American politics? Timed to coincide with the 2026 midterm elections, this course will address these questions and more. We'll examine previous political science research findings on the dynamics of congressional elections and conduct original research to explore whether and how these findings are playing out on the ground in real time this year.

The defining element of a 'Wabash Man' is a song. If you met every graduate of our college, you would find rich people and poor people, black people and white people, athletes and klutzes, people from dozens of countries around the world, and even a few women. But you would be hard pressed to find a Wabash graduate who can't at least stumble through the words of "Old Wabash." Music is about inclusion. But by defining who belongs, it also defines those who don't. Most Americans struggle to sing the Star Spangled Banner. But even those who don't speak English can recite the first four words! If border patrol agents used the words to "Yankee Doodle" as a shibboleth for entry, it's hard to see how a non-citizen would ever get in. Music is inherently political. Even when it's not explicitly so, it reflects the society that produces it, the audience that listens to it, and the means by which the former finds the latter. Early German nationalists knew that Beethoven could help them define who was German. Later German nationalists knew that too. African Americans and Jews took music from the plantations and shtetls they left behind, fashioning it into Blues and Jazz when Classical conservatories wouldn't teach them and 'respectable' concert halls wouldn't let them perform. They found a wider audience when people like Elvis Presley 'borrowed' their songs, recorded them, and made them famous. That music went on to define a generation defined by its counter-cultural ethos - and was brought back to Africa and the Caribbean (from whence it once came) where national heroes like Bob Marley and Fela Kuti used it to resist colonial oppression and dictatorship. Modern leaders listened and learned from this, which is why Korea promotes K-pop and Putin imprisons Pussy Riot. It's also why Bruce Springsteen objected to Ronald Reagan's use of "Born in the USA" - and why Ronald Reagan evidently didn't know (or didn't care about) the words. This course will focus on musical repertory related to specific regimes, societies, movements, and historical periods. The course will require students to examine music as propaganda and as protest. It will also invite students to engage with contemporary debates on such issues as censorship, cultural appropriation, political violence, and intellectual property. Of particular interest will be the role of music in the development of 19th Century European Nationalisms (as with Beethoven and Wagner); the inseparable relationship between music and politics in African and Afro-Caribbean anti-Imperialism (as with Fela Kuti and Bob Marley); and the role of music in the American Civil Rights movement. Our goal is for students to understand the relationship between music and politics both historically and in their own lifetimes, equipping them to analyze music that is both political and politicized.

Trade politics is a complex nexus of domestic and international politics, economic conditions, global and regional institutions, business interests, and civil society. This course provides students with both theoretical foundations and practical tools to analyze trade politics. We begin with the international trade system, focusing on policies for trade in goods andservices, as well as tariffs and non-tariff barriers. We will examine how these policies shape international relations and connect them to current debates such as the trade wars. We then turn to the winners and losers of trade. Who benefits financially from trade, and whobears the costs? How do factors such as gender, race, political ideology, education, and occupation shape public opinion toward trade? We will consider how people from diverse backgrounds understand and react to global trade, and how public attitudes influence political, economic, and social policies. Finally, students will gain quantitative literacy by learning MS Excel for data management and visualization. Students will analyze trade data from international organizations and comparetrade developments in the Global North and South. Students will also design, analyze, and present survey data. The course concludes by reflecting on trade's impact on development andequality. There are no prerequisites. Students should come prepared for active participation in student-centered learning

According to Paul, the only thing James and Peter asked of his strange work towards the 'uncircumcised' was to "remember the poor" (Gal 2:10). In this course, we will engage the tradition of remembering the poor in mostly Jewish and Christian texts from antiquity, as well as contemporary initiatives to address poverty. We will consider the degree to which the New Testament and early Christian texts 'speak' to economic issues, 'assume' economic issues, 'adopt', 'adapt', 'challenge', and 'carry forward'. Was Jesus part of the peasantry? What did the early Christian movement broadly speaking think about wealth? Was money shared? Were the rich welcomed? Was salvation tied to money?

How have Christians understood and practiced fatherhood throughout church history? What principles and sources of authority have guided men and families as they have sought to live out their faith in this area? This course examines Christian convictions and customs in relation to fatherhood in Scripture and the early church and western church history, with particular focus on the American context. What has fatherhood looked like among Christians? How have they viewed and raised their children, and to what ends? What shapes might fatherhood take in the contemporary world?

Do our brains make us religious? Does evolution? Yes, says cognitive science. But if so, how? And if so, then how can our religious beliefs be "personal"? How can God be real? These are our questions. The relatively new field of cognitive science is the scientific study of the human mind, drawing on fields like psychology, anthropology, archeology, linguistics, and neuroscience. The course has 3 parts. First, we'll read what some cognitive scientists have to say about religion, e.g. Pascal Boyer, Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought. Second, we'll read some critiques of these ideas. Third, in light of these critiques, we'll return to our initial questions, and see what answers we get. This is a first-half semester course.

"In the heart, it's intention; coming forth in words, it's poetry." So says the "Preface" to the Book of Songs, the ancient classic of Chinese poetry. In this course, we will read selections (in English) from three classical Chinese poets: Wang Wei, Li Bo [Li Bai], and Du Fu [Tu Fu]. We will study how they use image and metaphor to convey their distinctive ideas about nature, religion, and human life. As background, we'll also read some selections from the Book of Songs, and from Confucius and Buddhism. This is a second-half semester course.

What is public policy? How do publics and organizations mobilize, act, and seek to change public policies? How do governmental actors understand, communicate, and create public policy? This course is designed to give students a working knowledge of contemporary public policy questions, as well as develop students' understanding of rhetorical theory and criticism. We will explore the relationships between rhetoric and public policy through a series of case studies of different policy domains, including foreign policy, immigration, and the environment. Students will both analyze and invent their own policy communication.

When Hurricane Katrina struck, what persuaded the people of New Orleans that life could go on? Whether natural or human-made, catastrophe leaves behind two wreckages: the physical ruins and the communicative struggle to restore meaning. Focusing on the latter, this course explores how individuals and communities use rhetoric to rebuild a sense of identity, place, and possibility in the aftermath of disaster, displacement, conflict, and personal loss. Engaging theories of constitutive and restorative rhetoric, place attachment, discourse renewal, risk communication, memory studies, and more, students will develop a critical understanding of how public discourse and personal testimony function as key rhetorical sites of post-catastrophe meaning-making.

This course is designed for both new and experienced vocalists to enhance their onstage storytelling prowess. Students will participate in musical theatre scene study and analysis, applying improvisation, Laban Movement Analysis, and somatic body practices to their solo storytelling toolkit. The course culminates in a class-wide cabaret where students present work to peers and pals for a night of storytelling and community, celebrating the spontaneity of the singing actor.

This course focuses on the practical application of makeup for the stage. Students will explore a multitude of techniques and makeup products. From highlighting and contouring, to adding 3d makeup elements and horror makeup, the class will practice a range of makeup application. Firs-half semester course.

In this course we will study the history of the queer theatre movement and how queer theatre makers were impacted by different moments in American theatre history. Students will be asked to examine how queerness and the societal acceptability of queerness impacts the work of artists, American theatre, and queer performance. Students will also be asked to examine their own biases in relation to different forms of queer performance.