In this course we will investigate the idea of sexual desire and why it occurs. We will begin with the idea that desire is an evolutionary strategy that promotes successful reproduction and see how that lines up with what we […]
“How do you identify, analyze, critique and respond to biased outcomes from the Big Data systems in your life and the lives of others? Big data algorithms have a dark side – instead of eliminating the effects of human bias, […]
“Watergate. Iran-Contra. The Clinton impeachment and the Trump impeachment. Major scandals have been a recurring feature of several modern American presidencies, and studying them as a group can provide insight into the following key questions: how do we define a […]
Approximately half of human populations live in urban areas and this is expected to increase drastically within the next decade. As the built environment of cities becomes the prevalent feature of our planet, it is imperative that we understand how […]
The iGen: the most diverse and transformational generation in U.S. history who have literally had the world at their fingertips since birth, reportedly have been experiencing multiple crises. Recently, they have been getting closer attention from psychologists and journalists trying […]
The nature of the human-animal relationship is complex, pervasive, and paradoxical. Over the course of human history, we have domesticated, exploited, and protected species — we love dogs, eat pigs, and despise rats. In dissecting this relationship, we will examine […]
Every year more people die from unsafe drinking water than from all forms of violence, including war. Global demand continues to rise, with a large part of humanity, some 25 percent, living with water scarcity. It is a crisis that […]
When do the virtues of majority rule spill over into the vices of populism? Can we have informed citizens without a shared understanding of the methods for establishing truth? What poses the greater threat: politicians who deceive us, or the […]
This course considers how our attitudes about our ability to connect with and empathize with one another have been shaped by new technologies, especially social media. The course explores what the “problem” of empathy means in our current cultural moment, […]
This two-part course begins by exploring how we understand ‘the international’. Usually, we tend to think of the international as being defined by the line between the domestic and the foreign. However, this line is often moving, blurrier than we […]
The World Wildlife Fund recently reported that total wildlife populations declined over 50% between 1970 and 2010. Our class will explore the primary causes of habitat and wildlife loss including consumption, pollution, and climate change. We will then engage with […]
Why do interstate conflicts occur? What causes them to become intractable or to escalate in intensity such that they threaten regional or international security? To what extent could, or should the U.S. play a role in helping to defuse or […]
From the politics of social media and autonomous vehicles to asteroid mining, gene-editing, environmental issues, and innovations and implications we can’t yet imagine – the future of technology policy is as interesting and important as ever. As consumers, entrepreneurs, citizens, […]
Grounded in a thorough examination of the various theories of society, such as social Darwinism, and designed around a comparative and multidisciplinary set of scholarly works, literary writings, and primary sources, this course explores the colonial, postcolonial, and imperial interactions […]
This course would bring together AU students across a diverse set of disciplinary foci and from a diverse set of educational and cultural backgrounds in the study of a truly complex problem for all of humanity: piracy. Piracy, in this […]
This course examines the question: What does it mean to be an American? We ask questions about race and ethnicity, as well as about ideology and beliefs. While we explore our own identities – whether American or not – we […]
Hitlers rise to power led to totalitarianism in Germany and ultimately into the cataclysms of the Holocaust and World War Two. It also spurred the exodus of a wave of intellectuals from Central Europe. In this seminar we examine major […]
This Complex Problems course will introduce students to the complex problem: How we can create and support social entrepreneurs? Social entrepreneurs are individuals who create businesses to address social problems or needs that are unmet by governments and current markets. […]
Decision making is one of our most important activities in both our professional and personal lives. In this course, decision-making processes will be unpacked and thoroughly analyzed. They will be viewed through the lenses of psychology, business, economics as well as […]
How will the revival of the Silk Road via the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative increase the connectivity between nations and facilitate trade to the benefit of all parties when each country has their own political, cultural and economic […]
Universities teach about the past and the present in depth, but what about the future? This course’s dual goals are to develop an anticipatory future consciousness and to equip each student with practical methods and first-hand experience in a futures study. Future […]
One of the constants of forensic science is how frequently its applications become front-page news. Whether the story is sniper shootings or the tragic consequences of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, forensic science is at the forefront of the public’s […]
This course explores divisive bioethical issues surrounding our growing ability to analyze and manipulate genes in humans, animals and plants. Students are introduced to the basics of the human genome, the technology such as CRISPR that allows for genetic manipulation […]
When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he said that it was a small step for man and a giant leap for mankind. Today, this new giant leap may be represented by the advancement of small steps in nanotechnology […]
What if the whole world went vegan? A vegan lifestyle claims to be the solution to diverse worldwide complex problems such as (1) diseases of affluence (such as heart diseases, diabetes and cancer) (2) malnutrition (3) animal rights and (4) […]
As of 2017, 7.5 billion people inhabit the planet Earth. This is more than double the population of just 50 years ago when Paul Ehrlich published his dire warning (The Population Bomb) of famines and societal collapse due to population […]
The issue of climate change is a dividing topic in America, and the demand for action regarding climate is a hotly debated topic in political, economic, and social discussions. However, the effects of climate change are seen worldwide, and dialogue […]
What is the role of nature in human life? How do our attitudes, understanding and assessment of nature shape our environmental impacts on earth? During the past 10,000 years, humans have become the primary driver of changes to the Earths […]
What is real, how do we know, and what does it mean? These simple sounding questions, as old as humankind, have no simple answers. The questions, however, have become only more interesting as science, and particularly physics, continues to reveal […]
How do we learn about sex? It’s a complicated question with unique answers based on our families, friends, schools, and identities. It’s also a question that continually plagues students, parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers. And despite these enduring disputes, U.S. […]
Great minds of every generation have struggled to explain why bad things happen to good people, why humans are cruel to one another, and, especially for the followers of the Abrahamic faiths, how a world can have evil in it […]
Have you ever thought about how podcasts influence your knowledge and opinions? Any topic or theme you can imagine has a podcast covering it; they are modern, flexible modes of storytelling. But, the sense of shared experience and bond between […]
Establishing one’s identitie(s) is both real and invented. How one reads other’s projected identitie(s) in a multi-platform culture is complicated, not only by how people adorn themselves, but by our media choices. From avatars on social media (Instagram, YouTube, Tinder) […]
This course investigates the links between the global spread of neoliberal economic policies and novel interpretations of jihad among Muslims since the 1970s. We will examine the numerous economic and political crises that shook the post-WWII internationalist world order during […]
It does not take long traveling across Washington, DC to encounter people experiencing homelessness. As these encounters have become so common, fewer people ask how homelessness has become such an entrenched aspect of life in the city. Why and how […]
Many scholars have regarded the 21st century to be the watershed era for inclusiveness on Broadway. This course examines a chronology of such representation on “The Great White Way,” including titles from current and/or Broadway seasons such as “Falsettos” and […]
From early amorphous blobs of computer generated sounds, to the pulsating beats of contemporary hip hop, we are experiencing electronic music in both conscious and unconscious ways. This course will explore the impact that electronics have had on music since […]
Drawing on museum collections in D.C., this course explores how visual images constructed, claimed, and sometimes contested identities across the geohistorical spectrum. Students consider how images convey identities tied to cultural conceptions about politics, religions, race, gender, disability, and sexuality […]