Course Topics
Action in Education
Do you wish you had more voice in your education? Most people think we know what happens in education because we have been through it! Education policy happens to and for all citizens in our society. Be a part of it. How will you make your voice heard so that education policy and practice informs a society where education makes a difference? Lead Instructor: Jennifer Snow.
Age of Information
We live in an ‘Age of Information’ where digital information increases at exponential rates: from traditional publications such as books or newspapers to ‘amateur’ data in the form of social media. Information is increasingly fragmented, anecdotal documentation of individual lives in a communal virtual space (on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, etc.). At the same time, media companies use this data to create customized advertisements and ‘echo chamber’ news and opinions that surround users with information they want to see, hear, and buy. This course investigates how mass media and information technology shape the way we understand the world around us. We will address the following questions: Is all this information making us more informed? Why has ‘fake news’ become such an issue? And how does advertising and social media curate our choices, values, and identities? Lead Instructor: Erik Hadley or Tim Guill.
Designing Your Life
In this section, we will apply the design thinking process to planning, navigating, and maximizing your experiences at Boise State and beyond. Design thinking is a five-step methodology used by innovators, entrepreneurs, and others looking to enhance creative problem-solving and create better user experiences. Stanford University’s d.School is a hub of training and programming for design thinking, and this course is based on the book and course from d.School founders, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Lead Instructor: Jill Heney.
Diverse Cultures in Film
What dynamics are at play between majority and minority cultures? What contributions do marginalized cultures make to societies they are a part of? This course will examine the marginalization of minority cultures through film, so we can better understand ourselves, our own culture, the effects of marginalization, and the roles minorities play. Lead Instructor: Becca Sibrian
History of American Capitalism
We live in a capitalist nation; that reality structures our society and our daily lives. We work in capitalist workplaces and cast votes for politicians with starkly different visions of how capitalism should operate. Yet so few of us ever stop to think: What is capitalism, how did it evolve, and where is it headed next? How did America turn from a relatively minor player in the Atlantic marketplace into the world’s largest economy? To that end, this course explores how (and why) America became a “capitalist nation,” and how that transformation has fundamentally shaped our politics, our culture, and our lives. ” Lead Instructor: Shaun Nichols.
Life Lessons from Shakespeare
“He was not of an age, but for all time!” wrote Ben Jonson of his friend William Shakespeare in 1623. So how is Shakespeare relevant to life in 21st-century America? In this course, we will use critical thinking and performance to explore plays and poems that have resonated with readers and viewers around the world for over 400 years, looking specifically at the way Shakespeare’s works offer life lessons that can help us navigate the complex world we live in. Lead Instructor: Jennifer Black.
Literary Journey
This course traces the origin of one of the most popular Hollywood movies, Aladdin, from the ancient text One Thousand and One Nights (Alif Layla wa-Layla in the original). Students will read a few of the Night stories that have a direct connection to the story of Aladdin, study about these stories’ origin and their journey across the world, the contacts they made with diverse cultures, how they are retold many times, and have taken a different meaning in the 21st century. They will learn to evaluate literary texts, movies, cultural practices and its connection to human life and understand how storytelling influences particular mindsets that help shape our consciousness. Lead Instructor: Reshmi Mukherjee.
Media Literacy
Why is “the media” the way it is? Like fish immersed in water, we live in a world dominated by media products and messages, and it can be hard to take a step back and examine this environment. That is why we need to develop media literacy: the ability to analyze media messages and their social contexts. In this class, you will learn how to sort fact from fiction, how to separate reality from its representation, and how to use media to be an active participant in public life. Lead Instructor: Seth Ashley.
Purposes of College
What should college be for? This course plunges students into an examination of higher education and its role in society. Students are expected to dig deeply into a wide range of readings and to explore the purposes of college from multiple perspectives. Students work extensively in teams to research and share ideas about how to make the most of their own university experience and how to shape higher education for the future. Lead Instructor: Jennifer Black.
Sex, Love, and Evolution
How do we make sense of the human sexual experience? What are the brain systems that are involved in love, and why did they evolve? How can we best understand the great diversity of intimate relationships across cultures and time? This course is geared to help you make sense of our ever-changing social world given our shared evolutionary history and the cross-cultural variation in the human reproductive experience. You will gain hands on research experience, develop and reflect on learning goals, and consider how anthropology can contribute solutions to the continuing challenges we face as a species. Lead Instructor: John Ziker.
The Necessity of Beauty
How do we know when we experience “the beautiful”? What does it really mean to be “in awe”? What does the expression “beauty is only skin deep” imply? How are notions of beauty influenced by social conditioning and culture? These questions affect everyone, because everyone is affected by beauty. If you have ever felt in awe of an extraordinary event or felt the wonder and curiosity needed to solve a great problem, you have been moved by beauty. This course is for you. By the end of the course, you will know more about what you find beautiful and why, develop greater insight into how beauty fuels innovation and creativity in many different fields, and have practiced college-level critical inquiry within the disciplines of art, science, psychology, and philosophy. Lead Instructor: Elizabeth Cook