This course explores the cultural myths which have been foundational to the invention of basketball in America. From the myth of an “essence of the game” discovered by its Presbyterian inventor in 1891 to the NBA’s myth of “playing the right way,” the sport of basketball embodies a set of collective narratives that re-inscribe a […]
Fall 2020
Fall 2020
On Walking
Walking can be the ultimate act of freedom. But walking while black, while trans, or without papers, for example, can often risk a violent loss of freedom. Historically, however, marginalized groups have used walking (i.e. the protest march) to fight for freedom itself. Drawing on fields as diverse as environmental literature and philosophy, feminist studies […]
Genetics in Sci Fi and Modern Society
Frenemies: Humans and Animals
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 environmental issues, race, culture, sexuality, gender, and concepts of selfhood. By the end of the […]
Clothing and Conformity
From school uniforms to sagged pants to zoot suits to leggings and burka bans, this course explores the central question of to what degree any group or individual should dictate (either by policy or a subtler coercion) the dress of any other group or individual, and to what extent we self-police appearance in order to […]
Being Indigenous
Indigenous peoples persist in spite of concerted efforts to exterminate them across many centuries to the present day. What does it mean to be an indigenous person in a society that is built on your erasure? This course explores this question as a conversation with indigenous voices in different settler states, beginning locally in indigenous […]
Asteroid Apocalypse
Asteroids, meteors, and comets that orbit near the Earth (collectively referred to as Near-Earth Objects, or NEOs) pose an existential threat to all of humanity. Mitigating the danger posed by NEOs is a complex issue and one that must involve scientists and policy makers from around the world working together. In this course students will: […]
What’s It Worth? How We Determine Value
How do we, as individuals and societies, determine the value of things, services, and experiences? Questions like the value of a national park, a child well-educated, or a life prematurely lost are central to both government policy and individual commitments. Through careful reading, critical discussion, short integrative essays, and interactions with local organizations involved in […]
What is Legitimate?
The course explores how and why equilibria around questions of legitimate action in the areas of domestic governance, foreign policy, and international interventions form and why they often remain contentious. The course encourages students to understand ideas of legitimacy as bound in time and space, i.e., what is considered legitimate by some societies at some […]
Are We All Zombies?
In an episode of The Walking Dead, a zombie has its brain scanned. The scan reveals that the brain stem, an important, but primitive basis of consciousness, is very much alive. In this view, zombies have consciousness, and thus consciousness cannot be used to distinguish zombies from humans. Although human beings have higher cortical functions than zombies, like zombies, we have little awareness […]