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 […]
diversity
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 […]
Displaced Lives in the DMV
This course approaches cities and transnational migration in the context of the history and culture of the Washington DC region and its immigrant communities. The first weeks introduce DC; questions about race, gentrification, and displacement in the DMV; key issues in migration studies and in the study of cities; and basic field and library research […]
Antisemitism: Enduring Hatred
Hatred of the Jewish people and Judaism appeared in antiquity and continues to this very day. The phenomenon puzzles scholars, pundits, politicians, Jews, and people around the world. We will study this complex problem, focusing on specific episodes of this hatred in the past and present, emphasizing its long history in the U.S. We will read different genres of literature—history (secondary and primary sources), fiction, and nonfiction—as we grapple with the multifarious […]
A Problem Like Maria
This course examines why nannies are trusted with our dearest possession, our children, yet are viewed with ambivalence and why there has been such little curiosity, in terms of biography, social history, and psychology, about the contribution these “second mothers” have had on the children they cared for. The course traces the historical evolution of […]
Doing Better at Doing Good
Course type: Community Based Learning. As a part of this course, students will actively serve with a nonprofit agency or school in the DC area to apply their course knowledge. This course examines the conversation on poverty in Washington, DC through scholarship, research, and community-based service-learning with an afterschool program. Horton’s Kids is a local […]
Navigating Intimacy
The complexity of forming intimate relationships is an enduring topic of research, fascination and questioning throughout time. This course offers the unique opportunity for an intensive exploration of how the current state of navigating intimacy in emerging adults was shaped through the lens of modern history. Navigating Intimacy exposes students to an exciting and timely […]
Inequality in the U.S.
Topics & readings. This interdisciplinary course focuses on economic inequality in the United States and its relationship to social and political inequality. Readings will be drawn primarily from the fields of political science, sociology, and economics. Readings will describe socioeconomic inequality, explore the interrelated factors that cause and reinforce it, examine the publics beliefs about […]
Ethics, Morals, and Criminal Law
Inherent within criminal law and justice is the power to make discretionary decisions that greatly impact the accused, victims, and society. This course exposes students to historical and contemporary issues that generate interaction between ethics and criminal justice. It will examine macro and micro attempts in recent history to ethically balance public safety and “moral” […]
No Home, No Refuge
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 65 million displaced people in the world, a significant portion of who are classified as refugees. Who are these people? Where are they coming from? What are the driving forces of today’s global displacement? Why is the international community responsible for the […]