Global Arc

This course offers a bird's eye view of 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution. We will trace the history of the Universe from the earliest initial conditions that we can tangibly infer based on the physics of what we observe in the Universe today. Students will be asked to develop a short film clip describing the cosmic history starting with weekly short essay assignments on elements of cosmic history. No prerequisites in math or physics are required. This course is about learning something meaningful about the physics that governs the early period of the Universe and being able to convey that understanding to others.

It is 1633. Galileo stands trial before the Roman Inquisition, charged with committing heresy for advocating the Copernican belief that the sun lies at the center of the universe. It is up to you to decide the outcome. Should Galileo's books be banned? Should he be placed under arrest, or even worse? In this course you get to rewrite history. The main part of this course involves the role-playing game 'The Trial of Galileo' developed using the Reacting to the Past format. You will also help design a new microgame based on the Roman Inquisition's Index attempt to place Lucretius poem on ancient atomism on the Index of Forbidden books.

King Arthur of Camelot has fascinated writers and artists for centuries. This seminar interrogates the grip the legend has had on Western imagination, beginning with 20th- and 21st-century novels and films. How do such works "read" Arthur and what do these interpretations imply about their own contexts? Tracing the legend back to its earliest (5th c.) manifestations in Latin chronicles, students explore the creation, deployment, and transmission of myth over time and thereby develop their ability to perform close readings of different media as well as more nuanced understandings of both the present and the past.

This seminar will study how true crime narratives and its cultural history in what became the United States of America helped shape and reflect issues of American citizenship, immigration, gender, class, race, sexuality, and violence for over 350 years.

This seminar offers a contemporary, interdisciplinary introduction to the study of the Holocaust. We will study this unthinkable atrocity in both its historical specificity and its relevance to the present. We will thus move between works of history, first-person accounts, fiction, poetry, film, critical theory, and philosophy, testing the limits and powers of divergent idioms and genres in the face of atrocity. Is poetry possible 'after Auschwitz'? What about philosophy? We will conclude by asking how the Holocaust relates to contemporary forms of racism and fascism and if it is possible to think about the Holocaust 'intersectionally.'

Rembrandt (1606-1669) is an artist we feel we know, perhaps because he painted, etched and drew more self-portraits than any earlier artist. In this seminar, we will study all aspects of Rembrandt's art and examine firsthand his works held by the Princeton University Art Museum and museums in New York City.

Science underpins many of our biggest societal challenges and is therefore crucial to the most complex issues facing Washington, DC. Influencing the outcomes involves understanding the policy of the issue, the politics of change, and the process of government. Students will learn these skills from practitioners, academic literature, and class lectures and put them to work by lobbying in groups on a topic of their choice. Students will visit Washington, DC to meet with and influence policy makers.

This course investigates the relationship between the built environment and the human cultures that create them. The focus is on the Ise Shrines in Japan, which we will visit. The study of their history and architecture will allow us to identify how celestial orientation, materials, form, craft and ritual can all play important roles not only for shrines but simple storehouses and granaries, temples and churches, and modern museums.

The process of roasting coffee beans and brewing a cup of coffee involves several fundamental engineering principles. This course, a combination of lectures and labs, open to all first-year undergraduate students, explores fundamental concepts in chemical engineering, fluid mechanics, physics, chemistry, and colloid science. The experiments draw on science and engineering concepts introduced in the lectures, and the course culminates in a design competition where students work in groups to brew the best tasting cup of coffee with the minimum amount of energy.

Many Latin American performance artists have reimagined the use of theater to challenge social and political structures. Boal's 'Theater of the Oppressed', Teatro Yuyachkani, TiT, Teatro Trono, and more, challenge, subvert, and manipulate classic Eurocentric theater perspectives to spur awareness and action in their audiences. Through readings, discussion, viewing, writing, improv and play we will explore these artists' work, theatrical origins, and socio/geopolitical contexts. We will apply inspired tactics to our own work. Spanish not required. Acting experience not required. Willingness to play and take risks is integral to class.