Global Arc

This course aims to provide students as advocates, policymakers, and citizens with the tools to assess and critique the jurisprudence and role of the US Supreme Court. The focus will be the Court's record as a check (or not) on policies of the state governments since the constitution was established, though the Court's caselaw limiting (or not) the powers of Congress and the President will also be considered. Accordingly, the course will examine: the origins of the Supreme Court; the Court's jurisprudence in the early Republic, the 'Gilded Age' after the Civil War, the New Deal and Warren Courts, and the current 'Federalist Society' Court.

Climate change is increasingly shaping human mobility around the world. Rising seas, stronger storms, and shifting temperatures are adding new pressures to the familiar social, economic, and political drivers of migration. This course explores how these environmental changes interact with local contexts to influence who moves, when and why. We will build on classic ideas in migration studies and ask how those ideas need to be adapted for a changing climate. Through examples from different regions, we will compare diverse migration responses to climate stress and identify broader patterns that cut across contexts.

This course examines the landscape of existing and potential policy responses to emerging sociological implications of artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI including Large Language Models audio-visual generation systems, broad applications of machine learning and more. Just like the emergence of previous technologies, the features and capabilities of generative AI challenge our existing policy frameworks and understanding. Too often, the attempts to regulate these systems focus on technological and economical aspects without being sufficiently grounded in their sociological impacts which are of great consequence.

This seminar is a study of the form of government that has predominated for most of human history: authoritarianism. It covers dictatorships from Asia to Europe to Africa. The seminar ranges from one-party rule in China to strongman kleptocracy in Russia to hybrid authoritarianism in Hungary, as well as considering democratic backsliding in India under Narendra Modi and the United States under Donald Trump. What different kinds of autocratic systems are there? How do dictators come to power and how do they govern? What checks do they face on their power? What recurrent mistakes do they make? And how do they fall?

The goal of the course is to identify and analyze the roles which individual faith and organized religion play in the public realm and to equip students with the necessary tools to effectively analyze religious actors. The most important of these is simply to understand the powerful motivations, perspectives, identities, commitments, institutions and resources which each faith tradition continues to provide to the majority of the world¿s population. In this course we are concerned with the public face of religion, or the relationship of faith traditions, organizations and individuals to those outside of their boundaries.

Since the end of the 19th Century, Congress has utilized dedicated, fact-based federal agencies to regulate virtually all sectors of American life. Congress regularized this process of agency regulation with foundational laws in the mid 20th Century. Since then, the administrative state, which grew to accommodate Congress's recognition of the need for these expert-driven agencies to tackle an increasingly complex world, has been remarkably successful in improving the welfare of Americans during a period of substantial national growth.

Are you interested in engineering cells to make biofuels, build materials, detect toxins, or kill tumors? Synthetic biology is the subject of engineering cells delivering designer mRNAs and proteins that execute new functions or alter cell's behavior. This course serves as a rigorous introduction to research in synthetic biology. Students will read research papers in the field, learn modern techniques in gene synthesis, sequencing and molecular cloning, and develop and present research proposals in synthetic biology.

This course will expose students to the process of maximizing the impact and innovation of their research, including translating fundamental research findings into real-world applications that benefit health and society. We¿ll discuss how innovation works, examine the mechanics of building and organizing new teams (labs, companies, organizations etc.), and collaborating with existing companies and organizations. We¿ll discuss how to build and sustain a strong culture, and how to lead and inspire your team. Students will participate in a team-based project to develop a startup company based on intellectual property.

This course will survey emerging neurotechnologies and their applications to study the neural basis of behavior and brain function. The course will emphasize technologies for monitoring, recording, and perturbing neurobiological processes -- spanning from molecules, cells, circuits, tissues, and behavior. Example topics include detection and perturbation of RNA & proteins, molecular sensors/actuators/integrators of neural activity, optical erasure and detection of synapses, brain organoids, and closed-loop feedback and control of neural circuits to alter behavior.

This course explores the linguistic and extralinguistic aspects of intercultural communication, including pragmalinguistics, politeness, and cross-cultural communication. It aims to develop an understanding of the culture-language relationship and an interest in the multifaceted nature of language and the way its components are shaped by sociocultural practices. The course does not require any background in linguistics; it is meant to be an accessible introduction for undergraduates who are new to intercultural communication and are interested in international relations and global cultures. Classes are highly participatory.