Chinese Language & Culture in Film | LANG-4961 (LANG-4480)
Professor Jianling Yue

Description: This course is designed for students with some foundation in Chinese to further develop their proficiency in the Chinese language and culture. It will cover six well-known Chinese films produced by internationally acclaimed directors. Students will learn the language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in a fun, meaningful, authentic, and contextualized way through “real world” scenarios, and gain a more in-depth understanding of Chinese history, society, customs, cultural nuances, and people’s thoughts and lives. This course is intended only for Chinese language learners. 

Note: this course will be added to the 2024-2025 Catalog as LANG-4480. 

CRN: 19611
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: 
Prerequisites: Chinese I (LANG-1410) or by permission of instructor 
Restrictions: None

Course be applied to the following areas:

Integrative Pathways:
Global Languages and Cultures 

Minors:
Chinese Language 

DIALOGUE FACILITATION METHODS | IHSS-2960
Professor Alicia Walf, and Amy Youmans 
 
Description: In this seminar course, we will learn to utilize the methods of Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) to explore our identities, interrogate our experiences, and communicate effectively across differences. IGD is a style of participatory education rooted in social justice that uses personal reflection and in-class activities to cultivate brave spaces for learning and self-discovery.  

We will also learn and practice dialogue facilitation methods in order to increase our capacities to engage in future dialogues within our communities.  

Course Objectives:  
By participating in the Dialogue Facilitation Methods course, students will be able to:  

• Define intergroup dialogue and distinguish between dialogue, debate, and discussion  
• Demonstrate dialogue communication skills, such as active listening, appreciative inquiry, and communicating effectively across difference  
• Critically examine processes of socialization and processes/structures of privilege and oppression in society  
• Relate how personal and group socialization connects with larger societal systems through critical reflection  
• Show dialogue facilitation skills, including demonstrating the capability to mediate conflict through dialogue for mutual understanding 

CRN: 19982 
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Seminar
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Requirements met by taking this course:
Coming soon! 
 

EXTENDED COGNITION | COGS-4960 
Professor Bram Van Heuveln 
 
Description: Cognition often extends into our environment as we use languages, computers, and other tools to help us solve problems, make decisions, and reason. As such, tools augment our cognitive powers ... and a really good tool really augments our cognitive powers.  

In this course, students work on projects to create really good tools. Many projects involve creating a computer interface, so programming experience is a plus, but students can also work on design, mathematical analysis, or other aspects involved in the project. There are no lectures, but students meet once a week with the instructor to discuss progress. 

CRN: 19869
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Studio
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Course be applied to the following areas:

Major Electives:
COGS BS: Cognitive Science Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Cognitive Science 

Minors:
Cognitive Science 
Cognitive Science of AI 

GRAPH PERCEPTION & DATA VISUALIZATION | PSYC-4961 
Professor Lucy Cui 
 
Description: Graph Perception and Data Visualization is an interdisciplinary course designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles, techniques, and best practices involved in creating effective visual representations of data.  

In today's data-driven world, the ability to interpret and communicate information through graphs and visualizations is a crucial skill across various fields including data science, business analytics, social sciences, and more. Throughout this course, students will delve into the cognitive and perceptual aspects of graph comprehension, exploring how humans interpret visual information and make sense of complex data representations.  

By understanding the underlying principles of human perception, students will learn to design visualizations that optimize comprehension, minimize cognitive load, and effectively convey insights to diverse audiences. 

CRN: 20004
Credits: 1.00 *(please note that this is not a 4-Credit Course)*
Course Type: Seminar
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Will apply 1 Credit toward the following areas:

Major Electives:
COGS BS: Cognitive Science Elective 
PSYS BS: Psychology Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Cognitive Science
Psychological Science
Information Technology and Web Sciences  

Minors:
Cognitive Science 
Psychological Science Minor 

INTERMEDIATE GAME DESIGN | GSAS-4961 
Professor James Malazita 
 
Description: This studio course will examine advanced topics in mechanics design, game balancing, competitor product analysis, and system economies. Students will also take hands-on roles as formal game designers in product teams, working with mock clients and game creative leads to develop game systems that deliver on creator vision while also fitting within project specifications and audience expectations

CRN: 19998
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Studio
Prerequisites: Introduction to Game Design (GSAS 2510)
Restrictions: None
 

Course can be applied to the following area:

Integrative Pathways:
Game Studies (restricted to GSAS Students) 

LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY | COMM-2960 
Professor Skye Annica 
 
Description: The Leadership and Creativity Project This course mobilizes key principles from the fields of rhetoric, communication, organizational psychology, and the arts to provide hands-on experience in creative leadership. Course learning is centered around weekly experiential projects that provide opportunities for students to build skills in strategic professional communication and creative project design.  

The course will also address common obstacles to leadership and creative risk-taking, such as time management, difficult collaborations, burnout, and perfectionism. Students will leave this course with the foundational knowledge and skills to successfully communicate, lead, and innovate in their chosen fields while focusing on personal and community well-being. Students signing up for this course should be prepared for open-hearted conversations, creative experimentation, and project-based learning.  

The instructor brings an interdisciplinary focus to the design of this course as a creative writer; certified, professional life and leadership coach; and scholar in Literature and Narrative Studies. She also draws from her experience as a meditation instructor, registered yoga teacher, and freelance corporate communications consultant to empower students to lead from a place of authenticity, compassion, and personal power. 

COMMUNICATION INTENSIVE COURSE

CRN: 19993
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Seminar
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Course be applied to the following areas:

Major Electives:
COMD BS: Major Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Well-being: Body & Mind 
Ethics, Integrity, and Social Responsibility 
Narrative and Storytelling 
Strategic Communication 

Minors:
Narrative and Storytelling  
Strategic Communication 
Well-Being

LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY | COMM-2962 
Professor Anita Greenfield 
 
Description: Language serves a medium through which we express not only ideas, but also our identities, which establish our positions in the social world. This course examines the role that language plays in structuring the social world—from identity formation in day-to-day human interactions to reproducing ideologies at the national and global levels. Exploring the discipline of sociolinguistics, a subfield of linguistics focusing on the interplay of language and society, this class will give students an opportunity to use the tools of the discipline to examine language use in their own social worlds.  

We will examine different topics in sociolinguistics such as language and identity, language variation, language ideology, language and power, language attitudes, language policy, multilingualism, globalization, and language education. We will then use the information learned to examine and better understand the role of language in our lives. 

CRN: 20000
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Lecture
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Course be applied to the following areas:

Major Electives:
COMD BS: Major Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Global Languages and Cultures 
Media and Culture 

Minors:
Strategic Communication 
Linguistics 
Media and Culture 

SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIETY | COMM-2961 
Professor Anita Greenfield 
 
Description: Social media impacts our everyday lives; it affects how we develop our sense of identity, how we communicate with others and develop relationships, and how we find information about topics, products, pop culture, and politics. Simultaneously, social media reciprocally reflects existing social dynamics. 

This course explores those dynamics and that reciprocal relationship. Specifically, rather than a “how-to” course, this course explores theoretical approaches to social media, including identity formation, community formation, surveillance, and digital labor. 

CRN: 19994
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Lecture
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Course be applied to the following areas:

Major Electives:
COMD BS: Major Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Media and Culture 

Minors:
Strategic Communication 
Media and Culture 

THE METAVERSE | STSO-4960 
Professor James Malazita 
 
Description: This course explores the social, historical, legal, and artistic implications of the futures of the 3D web, with a particular focus on the intersection of gaming companies and the web, such as Fortnite and Epic Games. Students will develop skills in critical media literacy, evaluate metaverse games and economies, and explore concepts such as digital twins, decentralization, virtual embodiment, and playbor.  

This course will also feature collaborative activities with the Emergent Reality Lab CAVE virtual interactive space on campus. 

CRN: 19998
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Lecture
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None
 

Course can be applied to the following areas:

Major Electives:
STS BS: Advanced STS Elective 
DSIS BS: Advanced STS Elective  

Integrative Pathways:
Science, Technology, and Society 

Minors:
Science, Technology, and Society 

MODELS OF MENTAL DYNAMICS | PSYC-4963
Professor Yingrui Yang
 
Description: This course will cover a wide range of topics in high cognition. From normative theoretic perspectives, we will introduce the conceptual architectures of standard logic, decision theory, game theory, standard educational testing design, and measurement theory. From empirical perspectives, we will cover mental model theory and mental logic theory in psychology of reasoning, bounded rationality, psychology of decision making, small-grand world decision problem, behavioral game theory, and the field study in standard educational testing. A set of empirical and theoretical issues, including longstanding controversies and debates, will be address and discussed. The course will take an integrated approach to unify the normative theories and empirical researches, particularly from modeling perspectives. The course is designed as conceptually self -contained and instrumentally self-sufficient. There are no pre-requisites for this course. We will go through very basic concepts, touch very fundamental issues, and move to very front lines of research. This course is largely based on the instructor’s lectures. Reading references will be distributed each week, and lecture/reading notes will be collected weekly.  

CRN: 20049
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: 
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None
 

Course can be applied to the following areas:

Major electives:
Cognitive Science

Pathways:
Cognitive Science

Minors:
Cognitive Science

PHYSICS MEETS SOCIAL SCIENCES | PSYC-4962
Professor Yingrui Yang
 
Description: The modeling methodologies in current social sciences, such as psychology and economics, are largely influenced by the Newtonian physics. There are certain limitations of this long-standing tradition. This course will apply modern theoretical physics as a logic to develop new modeling technologies in social science. We will show how to apply the ideas from quantum mechanics, special theory and general theory of relativity, quantum field theory, and string theory, in psychology, economics, and political science. The course is designed as conceptually self -contained and instrumentally self-sufficient. There are no pre-requisites for this course. We will go through very basic concepts, touch very fundamental issues, and move to very front lines of research. This course is largely based on the instructor’s lectures. Reading references will be distributed each week, and lecture/reading notes will be collected weekly. 

CRN: 20048
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: 
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None
 

Course can be applied to the following areas:

Major electives:
Cognitive Science

Pathways:
Cognitive Science

Minors:
Cognitive Science

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS | STSO-4960 
Professor Matt Oehlschlaeger 
 
Description: This course applies technical, environmental, economic, and life cycle analyses to present and future energy production and consumption systems, to evaluate options for a sustainable energy future. The impact of energy systems on environment, including greenhouse gases and other emissions, land and water use, and other factors will be analyzed, as will the scalability and capital and life cycle costs of energy systems. Electric power, energy storage, transportation, heat, and industrial uses of energy will be considered. 

CRN: 19994
Credits: 4.00
Course Type: Lecture
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None

Cross-Listed Sections: MANE-4960, ENGR-4960 (restricted to Seniors)
 

Course can be applied to the following areas:

Major Electives:
STS BS: Advanced STS Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Sustainability  

Minors:
Sustainability Studies 
Environmental Design

WELL-BEING: CREATING A TOOLBOX | PSYC-2960 
Professor Alicia Walf 
 
Description: Well-being can be defined as feeling sound in body and mind more often than not and generally judging life positively. However, well-being is different for everyone. In this class, students will learn about different approaches to well-being by analyzing scientific findings, incorporating experiential learning, and completing project-based assignments.  

The goal is for students to create their own well-being toolbox.  

Topics will include: stress, boredom, emotion, resilience, contemplative practices, creativity, consciousness, identity, and self-awareness. 

CRN: 19877
Credits: 1.00 *(please note that this is not a 4-Credit Course)*
Course Type: Lecture
Prerequisites: Introduction to Psychological Science (PSYC-1200), or permission of instructor 
Restrictions: None
 

Will apply 1 Credit toward the following areas:

Major Electives:
PSYS BS: Psychology Elective 

Integrative Pathways:
Understanding Human Behavior 
Psychological Science  
Well-Being 

Minors:
Understanding Human Behavior 
Psychological Science  
Well-Being