Scroll Top
19th Ave New York, NY 95822, USA

First-Year Seminars & First-Year Launches

Description

First-Year Seminars and First-Year Launches are designed for incoming first-year students with no prior college experience. Students may take either a First-Year Seminar or a First-Year Launch to fulfill this First-Year Foundations Requirement.

First-Year Seminars

These small classes introduce you to the intellectual life of the University. You will make personal connections with distinguished faculty members who are active scholars and accomplished teachers. This small setting gives you the opportunity to engage with your peers and your instructor as you learn how scholars pose problems, discover truths, resolve controversies, and evaluate knowledge, while exploring specific questions or issues in depth.

First-Year Seminars go beyond the traditional lecture and discussion format. They invite you to explore new and old ideas, engage with complex issues, and become an active learner through inquiry, analysis, discovery, and action!

First-Year Launches

You will join a faculty member who is an accomplished teacher in a small class that offers an introduction to a major. This small setting gives you the opportunity to engage actively with your peers and your instructor as you learn the foundations of a long-term sequence of study. You will also fulfill a requirement in your prospective major by taking a First-Year Launch course.

Learning Outcomes

These are the learning outcomes that are expected of students after completing a course.

check Connect with a faculty member early in the educational process.
check Learn intensively among a small cohort of students.
check Apply methods for how scholars pose problems, discover solutions, resolve controversies, and evaluate knowledge – FY-SEMINAR.
check Produce knowledge through self-directed inquiry and active learning – FY-SEMINAR
check Analyze and communicate issues associated with a broad, introductory topic, covering a wide range of knowledge – FY-LAUNCH
check Learn the foundation of a discipline – FY-LAUNCH

Fall 2024 Course Offerings

Check Connect Carolina for the most up-to-date information about offerings, meeting times, instructional modes, and availability.

  • Seats are limited to first-year students (and transfer students in their first year who completed fewer than 24 hours of post-college class credit at another institution prior to arrival at UNC-CH). Students may only register for one first-year seminar or one first-year launch during their time at UNC-CH.
  • Honors (noted by the “H” in the course number) seats are limited to Honors Carolina students until Open Enrollment. At that time, all first-year students and qualifying transfer students are welcome to register for these classes. Honors Carolina students may only register for an honors first-year seminar or honors first-year launch.


AAAD 50-001: Defining Blackness

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Nadia Mosquera Muriel

The boundaries of Blackness are constantly in flux, and pinning down an accurate definition of Blackness in the U.S., to be specific, is becoming an increasing complicated task due to changing social norms, immigration, emigration, the increasing number of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean, the growing number of multi-racial persons and even increasing socioeconomic bifurcation among those traditionally categorized as Black. Who is included in the definition of Black is not only a matter of color and history but also of politics, culture and self-identification. Over the course of the semester, we will engage in the debates around Blackness. We will examine scholarly texts and government documents as well as film, novels and memoirs. Our goal is to attempt to define Blackness as well as to understand the mechanisms that influence the boundaries and definition of Blackness.

Nadia Mosquera Muriel

Dr. Mosquera Muriel specializes in Afro-Latin American social movements and structural inequalities at the intersection of race, class, and gender, with a focus on Venezuela and Colombia. Her research focuses on the intersections of race, class, gender, culture, space, and Black political mobilizations under Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution (1999-present). As a Black Feminist ethnographer, her work sheds light on the struggles for spatial justice among Black grassroots cultural producers, artists, and political activists as they challenge structural forms of anti-Blackness and spatial inequalities in Latin America.

Her current book project, titled “Building Blackness: Culture and Resistance in the Afterlives of the Plantation in Venezuela,” deploys an ethnographic approach to theorize the role of popular culture as a tactic to galvanize anti-racist politics among Afro-descendant populations in Venezuela’s central coast. Additionally, Dr. Mosquera Muriel conducts comparative research with Afro-Colombian feminist organizations in the Departments of Cauca and Cauca Valley in southwestern Colombia to comprehend Black Colombian women’s cultural politics and their responses against misogynoir (sexism and racism). From 2021-2023 she held a position as a Postdoctoral Provost Fellow at the University of Texas in Austin. She has also held fellowships at the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS), School of Advanced Studies, University of London in 2019, and the United Nations Fellowship Program for People of African Descent (Geneva, Switzerland) in 2016.

Her work is published in Bulletin of Latin American Research, Journal of Latin American Studies, and The Concise Encyclopedia of Human Geography. She currently serves on the editorial board of Gender, Place, and Culture.

 

AAAD 58-001: Health Inequality in Africa and the African Diaspora

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Lydia Boyd

This seminar examines the ways that healthcare access and health itself are shaped by social, racial, and economic inequalities in our society and others. The geographic focus of this course is Africa and the United States, but case studies from the Caribbean and other African diasporic communities will be included. Drawing on research in medical anthropology, sociology, public health, and history we will gain an understanding of the political, economic, and social factors that create health inequalities. Topics include gender inequality and HIV/AIDS in Africa; race and chronic disease in the U.S.; inequality and the practice of global health; and how racial difference has historically been used to justify and explain health disparities. Students will gain experience with ethnographic research methods, and work on small qualitative research projects investigating health inequality in their own communities.

Lydia Boyd

Lydia Boyd is an associate professor of African, African American, and Diaspora studies and is trained as a cultural and medical anthropologist, with a research focus in Uganda. Her work considers issues of health, culture, and the moral and political frameworks that shape health behavior. Her first book examined the impact and reception of the U.S.'s global AIDS treatment and prevention policy (PEPFAR) in Uganda. Her current work focuses on Ugandan women's decision-making during pregnancy and perceptions and experiences of both biomedical and non-biomedical forms of care.

 

AAAD 89-001: Afro-Latinxs in the U.S.

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Maya Berry

What does it mean to be both racially Black and ethnically Latino in the U.S.? This discussion-based course will look at the history, culture, experiences, political struggles, and social dilemmas of “Afro-Latina/o/xs”: African-descended peoples from Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean who reside in the U.S. The erasure of these communities, along with their struggles for well-being, prosperity, belonging, and visibility, will be explored. The class provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, ethno-nationalism, and U.S. foreign-policy, and their connection to contemporary issues of migration, sexism, inequality, and anti-blackness. In-depth conversations about the politics of “race” and “ethnicity” will trouble dominant U.S. paradigms of identity. We will engage with a variety of sources, from academic books and scholarly articles to film. Students will synthesize their understanding through daily forum posts, a collaboratively-prepared presentation, an essay, and a group research project.

Maya Berry

Maya Berry is a sociocultural anthropologist who writes on topics related to race, gender, politics, and performance in Cuba, as well as black feminist approaches to ethnographic methods more broadly. She earned a PhD. in Anthropology from University of Texas at Austin and an MA in Performance Studies from New York University. Prior to joining AAAD at UNC-Chapel Hill, she was a postdoctoral associate at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. A third-generation Afro-Cuban-American, she is practitioner and researcher of Afro-Cuban dance. For her teaching at UNC she has been awarded the Office of the Provost Engaged Scholarship Award in Engaged Teaching (2020) and the Johnston Teaching Excellence Award (2021).

 

AAAD 89-002: Women of the Black Atlantic

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Alicia Monroe

This course examines constructions of gender and individual and collective responses to developing systems of inequality in the Atlantic world shaped by sex, race, and class. Students analyze and compare how African, European, and American societies constructed the category of “woman” and the constraints and liberties these constructions imposed.

Course participants document and examine how concepts of race and processes of racialization impacted experience for African and African descent women throughout the Atlantic World. Course readings survey societies from the early modern period to the twentieth century focusing on power, kinship, labor, and sexuality in daily life. The course highlights women’s cultures of resistance to interlocking systems of oppression in West and West Central Africa, the Caribbean, and North and South America. Students will engage travel writing, visual art, and historic Afro-Atlantic spiritual traditions as critical source materials.

Alicia Monroe

Alicia L. Monroe is a historian of modern Latin America specializing in the study of slavery, freedom, and black-identified religious and secular associations in nineteenth and twentieth century southeastern Brazil. Her research focuses on African diaspora religious experiences, post-emancipation civic societies, and representations of Afro-Brazilian laborers in early Brazilian photography with an emphasis on gender and lived experience. Her research has received support from the J. William Fulbright Fellowship, the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, and UNC’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities. Her recent publications have appeared in the Hispanic American Historical Review and the Journal of Africana Religions.

 

AMST 60-001: American Indians in History, Law, and Literature

FY Seminar | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructor(s): Daniel Cobb

This research seminar provides a broad grounding in American Indian law, history and literature through an exploration of the remarkable life and times of Flathead author, intellectual and activist D’Arcy McNickle (1904-1977). We will read D’Arcy McNickle’s novels, short stories, histories and essays, as well as secondary works about him. Even better, we will be working with D’Arcy McNickle’s handwritten and heretofore unpublished diary. You will have an opportunity to transcribe and contextualize passages and then share (probably through digital technologies) what you have learned about history, law, literature (and much, much more) through his life story. Rather than just being a passive recipient of information, you will be creator of new knowledge!

Daniel Cobb

Daniel M. Cobb is an award-winning writer and teacher committed to the scholarship of engagement, public outreach and service to the profession. His research and teaching focus on American Indian history since 1887, political activism, ethnohistorical methods, ethnobiography, memory and global indigenous rights. His first book, Native Activism in Cold War America (2008), won the inaugural Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award in 2009. His other publications include the edited works Beyond Red Power (2007) and Memory Matters (2011), a revised and expanded fourth edition of William T. Hagan’s classic work American Indians (2013) and Say We Are Nations (2015), a primary document collection on Native politics and protest from the late nineteenth century to the present. Works in progress include biographies of Ponca activist Clyde Warrior, a central figure in the American Indian youth movement of the 1960s, and D’Arcy McNickle.

 

ANTH 53H-037: Darwin's Dangerous Idea

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Paul Leslie

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is central to one of the most profound revolutions in the history of thought, generating stunning insights but also some misunderstanding and tragic abuse. This seminar aims to provide a clear understanding of how natural selection works, and how it doesn’t. We will examine objections to the theory; how the environmental and health problems we face today reflect processes of natural selection in the past and now; and recent attempts to understand why we get sick, how we respond to disease, why we get old, when and why we fight or help one another, why we choose mates the way we do, and more. Class sessions will feature a mix of lecture and discussion of concepts and issues. Students will also engage in small group projects—cooperative explorations of problems raised in class or in the readings and/or designing mini research projects.

Paul Leslie

Paul Leslie’s professional interests focus on human ecology, and he has pursued this primarily through research among nomadic peoples in East Africa. His most recent project entails studying (while nursing an aged Land Rover across the African savanna) human-environment interactions in northern Tanzania, especially how the changing land use and livelihood patterns of the Maasai people living there affect and are affected by wildlife and conservation efforts. When not teaching or practicing anthropology, he enjoys bicycling, motorcycling, woodworking, and jazz.

 

ANTH 62-001: Indian Country Today

FY Seminar | MWF, 11:15 AM – 12:05 PM | Instructor(s): Valerie Lambert

With the United States as our geographic focus, this seminar explores a range of 20th- and early-21st-century American Indian topics and current issues. We look at Indian casinos, tribal colleges, identity, gender, tribal courts, sports, and other topics. An exploration of the history of American Indians before and after the arrival of Europeans, a history with which we begin the seminar, provides essential background for looking at the present and recent past. This seminar will help students better understand the challenges facing American Indian communities both internally and externally and the creative solutions being forged to address these challenges. It will also help students further develop skills in reading, writing, critical analysis, and public speaking.

Valerie Lambert

Valerie Lambert is professor of anthropology and an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Harvard University and has won awards for undergraduate teaching and for each of her two single-authored books. Her first book is about her Tribe; her second one is about American Indian and Alaska Native workers in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She has twice been elected president of the Association of Indigenous Anthropologists. She is the mother of two daughters, both of whom are in their twenties.

 

ANTH 67-001: Blackness and Racialization: A Multidimensional Approach

FY Seminar | MWF, 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM | Instructor(s): Charles Price

Blackness and Racialization is an introduction to the history, social construction, cultural production, and lived experience of race. The course focuses on Blackness in the United States and Jamaica (for comparison), though it necessarily addresses other race formations such as Whiteness and Brownness. The course approaches racialization from three angles: historical; social; and personal. It utilizes historical, theoretical, ethnographic, and popular culture productions to explain the effects, uses, durability, and pliability of racial formations.
Some questions that the course will address include:
• What does the social construction of race mean in practice? How is race socially constructed?
• How do racial categories and identities develop, persist, and change?
• How does race work at various “levels,” such as the level of the individual, collectivity, and history?
• What are the origins of various racial stereotypes?
• Why do people have very different understandings of race, some embracing race, some rejecting race, and some claiming to not understand race at all?

Charles Price

Charles Price is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Charles’s research, writing and activity focus on Black racial identity, Rastafari identity, life narrative genres, action research, community organizations and community organizing, people-centered community development, and social movements, with a geographic concentration on the United States and Jamaica. Charles authored the book Becoming Rasta: The Origins of Rastafari Identity in Jamaica (2009, New York University Press), co-authored the monograph Community Collaborations: Promoting Community Organizing (2009, Ford Foundation), and is under contract with NYU Press to write a sequel to Becoming Rasta, a book on collective identity formation and ethnogenesis among the Rastafari people of Jamaica. He is developing a historically grounded qualitative approach to explaining collective identity formation. Another project in development involves a collaboration with a faculty member to develop an action-oriented study of how Black men in North Carolina and Connecticut negotiate challenges and obstacles in their lives.

 

ANTH 89-001: Walking in the World: The Anthropology of Moving, Knowing, and Creating

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Christopher Nelson

We learn about the world as we move through it. In moving, we change the world around us and we are transformed by our experiences. However, we are not free to move wherever we wish. We live with boundaries, some only dimly understood. And yet, sometimes we come together to challenge these boundaries and struggle to create something new.

In this class, students will learn how anthropologists create research projects to explore these questions. While our focus will be on cultural anthropology, students will be exposed to the ways in which artists, historians, geographers, novelists, philosophers, outdoor athletes, soldiers, and activists approach similar problems.

Beyond readings and small-group discussions, students will step out of the classroom to design and carry out short research projects. They will share their result in journals entries and critical essays, and I will mentor each student as they develop their ideas.

Christopher Nelson

Christopher Nelson is a cultural anthropologist. His research interests include the relationship between history and memory; the critical study of everyday life; storytelling, ritual and performance; value, exchange and sacrifice. He has done ethnographic fieldwork in Japan for nearly three decades, and recently completed book about the relationship between workers, artists, anthropologists, political activists, shaman and the dead in Okinawa. Nelson has been a Marine infantry officer, a truck driver, a factory worker, an editor of the journal Cultural Anthropology, and has taught at Carolina for the past twenty years. He is also an enthusiastic walker and hiker.

 

ANTH 89-002: Archaeology and Popular Culture

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Douglas Smit

Archaeology often captures the popular imagination through fantastic and farfetched portrayals of lost civilizations, aliens, and spectacular treasures. While these depictions of archaeology and the past may not be accurate, the story being told is nonetheless significant and reflects something about the culture that produced it.

This course explores how these films, televisions shows, books, and video games tell stories about the past, what stories are being told, and what these representations imply about the relationship between archaeology and society. We will critically analyze popular representations of archaeology, comparing how competing visions of fact and fiction operate in the public sphere.

Douglas Smit

Douglas Smit is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. He is an archaeologist who currently directs projects in Peru and Philadelphia. His research focuses on the archaeology of the recent past, how local people have interacted with big processes like globalization over the past five hundred years. He is also a newcomer to UNC, having just moved with his partner, an infant, two dogs, and one cat to North Carolina from Philadelphia in the summer of 2022. Beyond archaeology, he loves hiking, basketball/soccer, and reading, non-fiction, although these days, it is mostly child-care.

 

APPL 110-03F: Introduction to Design and Making: Developing Your Personal Design Potential

FY Launch | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Glenn Walters

Students work in flexible, interdisciplinary teams to assess opportunities, brainstorm, and prototype solutions. Design thinking and physical prototyping skills are developed through fast-paced, iterative exercises in a variety of contexts and environments.

Glenn Walters

I am a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill. In this role, I am developing and teaching courses covering fundamentals of engineering in such areas as design, fluids, hydraulics, additive manufacturing, etc. My specialty is creating curriculum that focuses on experiential activities that develop student intuition as a pathway to learning theory and practice.

 

APPL 60-001: Tree. Timber. Totem - available in ConnectCarolina soon

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Richard Superfine

Trees, through their biology, meaning and uses, create an arc of understanding that spans what it means to be human. We will explore the meaning of trees and wood and why we seek happiness in nature, cherish wood and the creation of wood ofjects. Tree: What is a tree from a biological perspective? How do they represent a complex community and play a vital role in life on the planet? Timber: What is the economy of wood? What are biophysical and material properties of trees that allow them to grow and be so useful to human society? Totem: Why do we respond emotionally to wood and choose it as a material in our lives? How do we design and create objects of meaning from wood? We will walk in the woods, meet “wood people” from across the state and learn woodworking with projects of the the students’ design and creation.

Richard Superfine

I am the son of a home builder, a first gen life-long student who is also a faculty member that has a passion for studying biology using the perspective and tools of physics. In my day job at UNC I build microscopes, materials and systems to study the wonders of the lung, the body’s immune system and biomedical diagnostic technologies – all in collaboration with brilliant scientists from across UNC and the world. I also have a woodworking shop in my basement where I make from wood furniture and gifts of meaning for family and friends.

 

APPL 89-002: Convergent Research: Solving the Grand Engineering Challenges of the Future

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Ronit Fraiman

Convergence research focuses on addressing complex problems in science, engineering, and society. Today’s and tomorrow’s grand challenges will not be solved by one discipline, but by the integration of knowledge, methods, and expertise from across various disciplines.

This first-year seminar will introduce students to the new scientific language of convergence research. Through surveying the grand challenges of engineering, we will learn how through pursuing a common research challenge, experts from various fields intermix their knowledge, theories, methods, data, and research communities, enabling new discoveries to emerge. Students will participate in various in-class activities, group discussion and problem-solving coaching to enhance understanding of how chemistry, physics, materials science, biology, math, and computer sciences are applied to engineering.

Seminar will host guest lecturers with expertise on a particular topic, allowing the students to gain a true interdisciplinary view of the subject, instead of an isolated view of each.

Ronit Fraiman

My interdisciplinary expertise in chemistry, nanotechnology, material science, and computer science allows me to study problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single area of research practice. I truly believe that collaborations among scientists trained in different fields are essential for exploring and tackling complex problems. As such, I am both a participant and a leader of integrated research teams involving a vast network of interdependent researchers. I develop breakthrough biologically inspired technologies to advance healthcare. My work has led to major advances in tissue engineering, nanobiotechnology, and diagnostics, and key innovations are being translated into commercial products.

 

ARTH 61-001: African American Art of the Carolinas

FY Seminar | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructor(s): John Bowles

Focusing on the Carolinas, this seminar explores the many ways African Americans have used art to define themselves and their communities. We will ask how art has been used to maintain cultural traditions, shape American culture and build political solidarity from the era of colonialism and slavery to the present. We will study the cultivation of artistic practices from Africa; African American painters, sculptors and craftsmen who earned national reputations for the quality of their work; artists who re-imagined and redefined African American identity through art; and artists throughout the 20th century who represented the daily lives and hardships of rural and working-class blacks. Students will visit campus museums and archives and conduct original research using regional sources. Persistent questions throughout the semester will include, How does the art of African Americans in the Carolinas provoke us to question our own identities and roles within the region, and what is the contemporary role of art in shaping public discourse?

John Bowles

John Bowles received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 2002 and is a graduate of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program. He is an historian of African American art, who works from the assumption that art plays an important role in determining how we see ourselves as morally responsible individuals. In his research and teaching, he attempts to convey the urgency of art by addressing moral and political dilemmas we would often rather ignore. He has published articles and art criticism in various journals and has recently completed a book that examines the work of artist Adrian Piper. He is currently writing a book that explores how African American artists have engaged simultaneously with modernism, globalization and diaspora from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s until today.

 

ARTS 50-001: The Artistic Temperament

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Annette Lawrence

Class examines how to advance and sustain artistic production, focusing not only on being a successful artist, but also on the importance of creativity and hard work in any successful venture. Honors version available.

Annette Lawrence

 

ASIA 74-001: Imagining Palestine

FY Seminar | MWF, 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM | Instructor(s): Nadia Yaqub

This course explores the idea of Palestine as it is presented in Palestinian writings, films, and other creative works. We will study what Palestine is for the Palestinians, none of whom have lived in a Palestinian state and many of whom have spent more time in exile than in the land that has been known historically as Palestine; how Palestinian relationships to and expectations of Palestine may have changed over time; and how Palestinian portrayals of their dreamed-of homeland have affected our own perceptions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Arab world generally. How have Palestinian art, film, and literature helped to shape Palestinian identities and aspirations in different ways over the course of modern Palestinian history? In what ways have art, film, and literature intersected with Palestinian politics and a sense of political and personal agency?

Nadia Yaqub

Nadia Yaqub’s research has treated Arab cultural texts ranging from medieval literature and contemporary oral poetry to modern prose fiction and visual culture. Most recently she has focused on Palestinian literature and visual culture. Her current work has focused on two distinct areas: 1) Palestinian cinema and 2) women and transgression in the Arab World. Her most recent books are Palestinian Cinema in the Days of Revolution (2018, University of Texas Press) and Bad Girls of the Arab World (2017, University of Texas Press), a collection she coedited with Dr. Rula Quawas from the University of Jordan.

 

BIOL 101-01F: Principles of Biology

FY Launch | MWF, 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM | Instructor(s): Jordan Claytor

This course is the prerequisite to most higher courses in biology. An introduction to the fundamental principles of biology, including cell structure, chemistry, and function; genetics; evolution; adaptation; and ecology. (See department concerning Advanced Placement credit.) Three lecture hours a week.

Jordan Claytor

Jordan Claytor is originally from Maryland and received his undergraduate degree in biology from Elon University. As an undergraduate, he did research investigating how anthropogenic noises impacted the behavior of bottlenose dolphins. His interest in dinosaurs and paleontology developed during an internship at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History studying landscape ecology using micro-vertebrate fossils. He was featured in the NOVA program, Dinosaur Apocalypse: The Last Day on PBS. His current research is on the evolution and ecology of early mammals using morphology independent methods to infer diet.

 

BIOL 104-01F: Biodiversity

FY Launch | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Mara Evans

The biological diversity we see on Earth today encompasses a variety of genetic, species, and ecosystem level variation. This course will focus on the biological principles that push biologists to understand what produces and sustains the biodiversity of life on Earth. This class will address key questions about how we identify and measure biological diversity, how it changes over time, and why biological diversity matters as our planet continues to change.

Mara Evans

 

BIOL 59-001: Unsolved Problems in the Genomic Age

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Kerry Bloom

We are living in times of a genetic revolution. We have sequenced the human genome and are in a position to transform medical treatment in the world. In spite of the advances in DNA sequencing, there remain mysteries in terms of how the cell accesses genetic information and how our genomes are transmitted to progeny cells with such high fidelity. The principles governing chromosome organization have been discovered through advances in biology, physics, statistics and computational sciences. This class will explore advances from the diverse disciplines and discuss the successes and limitations of the different approaches.

Kerry Bloom

Dr. Kerry Bloom has a long-standing interest in chromosomes. How does the cell pack 2 meters of DNA into a tiny (10 micron) cell. We use a combination of tools including genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, polymer physics, computer simulations and molecular modeling to understand basic mechanisms of chromosome organization and segregation.

 

BIOL 89-001: Title and topic TBD

FY Seminar | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructor(s): Sabrina Burmeister

Sabrina Burmeister

 

BUSI 89-001: History, Myth and Modern Leadership

FY Seminar | MW, 3:35 PM – 4:50 PM | Instructor(s): Mark McNeilly

The History, Myth and Modern Leadership course is an immersive seminar designed to deepen students’ understanding of leadership and increase their leadership skills. The course will use leadership examples from mythology, history, and the latest news to analyze leaders’ actions and character. The analysis will be performed based on insightful leadership theory while providing students practical skills that will make them better leaders.

Covering a range of topics from ancient leadership philosophies and leaders to modern-day leadership theory and challenges from around the world, the course blends theoretical learning with practical application. Interactive elements such as case studies, simulations, and group discussions will enrich the learning experience, fostering critical thinking and leadership skills. This seminar aims to inspire and equip students to become thoughtful, effective leaders in diverse professional and personal settings.

Mark McNeilly

Mark McNeilly is a Professor of the Practice in marketing and organizational behavior in the MBA and Undergraduate Business programs and acts as a faculty advisor in the STAR student consulting program.

Mark serves as the co-chair of the UNC Generative AI Committee and chairs the Kenan-Flagler Emerging Technologies Committee, which focuses on generative AI. In his generative AI roles, Mark assists in providing guidance and education for faculty, staff, and students, developing AI organizational strategy, and presenting his views on this topic to internal and external organizations.

Prior to coming to academia, Mark served as a global marketing executive and has several years of experience with both IBM and Lenovo in the IT industry. His business background includes branding, strategy, marketing, market intelligence, management, manufacturing, and personnel.

Mark is the author of a popular strategy book based on Sun Tzu’s Art of War titled Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers as well as George Washington and the Art of Business: Leadership Principles of America’s First Commander-in-Chief, both from Oxford University Press.

Mark has presented his views on generative AI, strategy and marketing to corporations, businesspeople in the U.S., Europe, and Asia as well as the U.S. Air Force Command and Staff College. He has discussed his ideas on strategy on the BBC, C-SPAN, CNBC’s Power Lunch and other TV and radio programs. He appeared on a History Channel Special on Sun Tzu’s Art of War. He has been an expert blogger for Fast Company. He also has presented widely on generative AI and its impact on individuals, businesses, and society.

Mark received his MBA with honors from the University of Minnesota and his BS in finance from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

 

CHEM 102-01F: General Descriptive Chemistry II

FY Launch | MWF, 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM | Instructor(s): Carribeth Bliem

The course is the second in a two-semester sequence. See also CHEM 101. Solutions, thermochemical changes including conservation of energy, thermodynamics, reaction rates, chemical equilibria including acid-base chemistry, and electrochemistry. Honors version available. Honors version available.

Carribeth Bliem

My current teaching efforts are centered on bringing evidence-based practice to the undergraduate classroom, especially in large-enrollment courses. To that end, I’ve been involved in curriculum reform of our first-year general chemistry courses, implementing a high-structure active-learning environment designed to help students learn to think critically about problems and work collaboratively to find solutions.

These same themes extend into my upper-level physical chemistry courses. My goals are that students gain what they need in order to achieve their career goals and that they see the relevance of chemistry to daily life.

 

CHEM 89-001: Medicinal Plants - Bridging Chemistry, Medicine, and Native American Culture

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Nita Eskew

There is an increased interest in medicinal plants as alternatives to modern medicine are sought. Native Americans have been using herbal medicine for centuries. Through readings, interactive lectures, guest speakers and field trips, we will explore the chemistry and biological effects of some medicinal plants and their role in Native American culture. This course will begin with an overview of chemical structures and molecular properties. Then we will focus on medicinal plants, herbal medicine and Native American culture. Student teams will prepare final papers and presentations that focus on medicinal plants used by Native Americans.

Nita Eskew

Dr. Nita Eskew is a Teaching Associate Professor in the UNC Department of Chemistry. She earned her PhD in Organic Chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill under the direction of Slayton A. Evans, Jr. after receiving a BS in Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill.

Dr. Eskew is passionate about sharing the excitement of chemistry with students in the classroom and laboratory. She has an ongoing interest in medicinal plants that began while researching American Ginseng, a native plant of the NC mountains used by Native Americans. She developed an APPLES course, 'The Chemistry of Purslane'. Dr. Eskew routinely teaches organic chemistry courses.

Prior to joining UNC in 2012, Dr. Eskew taught at Salem College and worked at Bayer Corporation. Additionally, she is the parent of two Carolina alums.

 

CLAS 51H-001: Greek Drama from Page to Stage

FY Seminar | MWF, 3:35 PM – 4:25 PM | Instructor(s): Alexander Duncan

Taking a participatory approach to ancient Greek drama, this course pairs readings from three Athenian playwrights (Aeschylus, Euripides, and Aristophanes) with performance-oriented activities and scholarship.

Alexander Duncan

Al Duncan holds a B.A. in English and Classical Languages & Literature from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Classics and the Humanities from Stanford University. Having previously taught in Classics and Comparative Literature at the University at Utah, he joined the Carolina faculty in 2015, where he teaches a variety of courses on ancient Greek language and literature and ancient Mediterranean culture.
Professor Duncan’s research focuses on performance, aesthetics, cognition, and embodiment. His first book, Ugly Productions: An Aesthetics of Greek Drama, comes out this year, and he is working on projects concerned with spectatorship, creativity, and interactions between humans and materials in the ancient Mediterranean world.

 

CLAS 63-001: The Politics of Persuasion in the Ancient and Modern Worlds

FY Seminar | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructor(s): No items found

Are there rules for crafting a successful speech? The art and the mechanisms of persuasion will be considered both as a discipline with its own laws and practices and as a window into the values and debates that animate the public life of diverse civilizations.

No items found
 

COMM 75-001: Researching Society and Culture

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Torin Monahan

Qualitative research offers an exciting way to discover the world. There are so many unknowns about why people do the things they do, what is meaningful in people’s lives, how conflicts arise or are resolved, how technologies shape possibilities, how symbols acquire meaning, and how social change occurs. Whereas we all have ready-made “frames” that provide us with hunches about why things are the way they are, the task of the researcher is to ask good questions and then seek answers, all the while being open to—and eagerly pursuing—surprises. This intellectual posture of genuine curiosity is what animates some of the best research. This is the kind of research you will learn about and will conduct yourself in this course.

Torin Monahan

I am an interdisciplinary scholar who thoroughly enjoys conducting empirical research. I’ve studied hospitals, schools, Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism centers, and most recently digital platform companies (e.g., Uber, Airbnb). I also have wide experience in evaluating research proposals for funding agencies such as the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.K. Economic and Social Research Council, the European Science Foundation, and many more. I routinely draw upon this background to mentor students and help them maximize the success of their research projects. My specialty area is in media and technology studies.

 

COMM 82-001: Food Politics from an Organizational Communication Perspective

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Sarah Dempsey

The globalization of food systems is both a hotly contested subject and a central part of contemporary life. This course provides an applied introduction to key debates by adopting a critical organizational communication lens on our globalized food system. Drawing on readings, popular media texts, discussions, and experiential activities, we will explore food system labor practices, the role of multinational companies and global commodity chains, the status of hunger and food deserts, the role of food marketing and consumption practices, and the growth of local and sustainable movements devoted to food justice. Throughout, we investigate how our global food system is shaped by different types of organizations operating within particular locales, such as North Carolina, USA.

This is an APPLES-designated service-learning course that requires service hours. In addition to experiential field activities and visits, our course is organized around group-based engaged research projects. Your success will depend upon your ability to work independently and practice collective leadership. This project will increase your research and writing skills, sharpen your leadership and collaborative skills, and provide you with applied insight into the themes of the course.

Sarah Dempsey

Sarah Dempsey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication. Her research focuses on critical theories of work and professional life and the politics of voice, representation, and accountability in social change efforts. Her most recent research examines cultural discourses about work and labor in the context of the food industry. She is currently engaged in a book length project drawing on archival research, critical analysis of popular discourses and corporate practices, and interviews with contemporary food service workers, organizers, and living wage and fair wage advocates and business owners.

 

COMM 89-001: Paying Attention: The Art of Documentary

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Julia Haslett

Paying attention to the world around us is foundational to our understanding of the people, behaviors, environments, and living species that co-exist alongside us. Attention fuels our curiosity, deepens our empathy, and invites us to step outside of ourselves. Representing what we pay attention to–what we see and hear–is the art and practice of documentary. At its essence, documentary is a “document” of what we observe and what we record. In this course, we will use video and sound recording along with the written word to document and then re-present what we are paying attention to. Throughout the course, students will strengthen their attention-paying capacities and learn how to refine their chosen methods of documentation. Class discussion, readings, film screenings, journaling, site visits, and in-class exercises will provide an opportunity to experiment, ask questions, and collaborate with peers. We will consider obstacles to paying attention as well as its “darker side,” including the role of social media, surveillance, and the attention economy more broadly. The course will culminate in a final documentary project done in small groups on student-chosen topics that will be presented to the class.

Julia Haslett

Julia Haslett makes expressionistic documentaries about contemporary and historical subjects. She is particularly interested in questions of empathy, attention, and the complex dynamics of bearing witness. Her first feature-length documentary, An Encounter with Simone Weil won Michael Moore's Special Founder's Prize at the Traverse City Film Festival and was a New York Magazine Critic's Pick. She is producer/director of the highly acclaimed Worlds Apart series about healthcare inequities, and producer of the companion documentary Hold Your Breath (PBS). She has worked at WGBH-Boston, the Discovery Channel, and as a Filmmaker-in-Residence at Stanford University’s Center for Biomedical Ethics. Her latest film Pushed up the Mountain is a poetic documentary about plants and the people who care for them, shot on location in China and the UK. It has screened at venues around the world, including Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, Trento Film Festival, and the Scottish National Gallery. Haslett is an associate professor in the Department of Communication, where she teaches media production courses focused on documentary filmmaking.

 

DRAM 120-01F: Play Analysis

FY Launch | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Mark Perry

Development of the skill to analyze plays for academic and production purposes through the intensive study of representative plays. DRAM 120 is the first course in the major and the minor in dramatic art.

Mark Perry

Mark Perry teaches playwriting, play analysis and dramaturgy and serves as a resident dramaturg with PlayMakers Repertory Company. His plays A New Dress for Mona and The Will of Bernard Boynton have been produced by UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art, and both scripts are available from Drama Circle. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop and a former recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council’s Literature Fellowship for playwriting.

 

DRAM 79-001: The Heart of the Play: Fundamentals of Acting, Playwriting, and Collaboration

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Mark Perry

The goal of this seminar is to get you doing theatre, to spark your creativity and to connect you with the deeper lessons of this dynamic art form. You will act. You will write. You will work with others. It will not always be easy, but if you are willing to stretch yourself, you should have a great time. Each lesson is organized around a principle or virtue inherent in the practice of the art. Participants study a quotation or two that relate to that principle and then engage in drama exercises that spring from that principle. By the end of the course, you will have gained skills to make you comfortable to write, stage and perform your own 10 minute plays. Not just for those interested in pursuing theatre, this seminar will give you a more holistic understanding of essential principles in the practice of your life.

Mark Perry

Mark Perry teaches playwriting, play analysis and dramaturgy and serves as a resident dramaturg with PlayMakers Repertory Company. His plays A New Dress for Mona and The Will of Bernard Boynton have been produced by UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art, and both scripts are available from Drama Circle. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop and a former recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council’s Literature Fellowship for playwriting.

 

DRAM 80-001: Psychology of Clothes: Motivations for Dressing Up and Dressing Down

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Pamela Bond

The course seeks to help students find ways to articulate their own motivations for dress and then apply the ideas they have discovered to the ways in which individuality as well as group attitudes are expressed through clothing.

Pamela Bond

Pamela Bond is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art. Pamela has taught at Hampton University and North Carolina Central University. Her recent work includes costume design for The Bus Stop featured at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. She has performed professionally at the National Black Theatre Festival and featured apparel designs in Charlotte Fashion Week and Winston Salem Fashion Week. Pamela believes that in order for students to experience the full scope as theatre practitioners they must be willing to explore diverse ethnic and cultural backdrops, as well as their own. So what does your clothing say about you? What messages are you trying to send with what you put on today? Let’s explore your closet and see who you are.

 

DRAM 81H-001: Staging America: The American Drama

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Gregory Kable

This seminar examines our national drama from its colonial origins to the present. Participants read plays and criticism, screen videos, engage in critical writing, and consider performance as related means of exploring the visions and revisions constituting American dramatic history. We will approach American drama as both a literary and commercial art form, and look to its history to provide a context for current American theater practice. Readings are chosen for their intrinsic merit and historical importance, but also for their treatment of key issues and events in American life. Our focus throughout will be on the forces that shaped the American drama as well as, in turn, that drama’s ability to shed light on the national experience.

Gregory Kable

Gregory Kable is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art, where he teaches dramatic literature, theatre history, and performance courses and serves as an Associate Dramaturg for PlayMakers Repertory Company. He also teaches seminars on Modern British Drama and American Musicals for the Honors program. He has directed dozens of productions at UNC and throughout the local community, and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

 

DRAM 83-002: Spectacle in the Theatre

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): David Navalinsky

This seminar will explore the artists, art and technology involved in creating the world of the play. It is intended as an overview for students who want to learn about theatrical design. Students will create their own designs in the areas of scenery, costumes, and lighting for three plays throughout the semester. The plays will be placed outside of their traditional setting while still maintaining the story and themes. Students have placed Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a trailer park and a daycare center for example. Careful historical research, close reading and analysis, text and source material, and collaboration will be the focus of the student projects.

David Navalinsky

David Navalinsky is the Director of Undergraduate Production in the Department of Dramatic Art. David has taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Mississippi. David’s recent design work includes scenery for The Uncanny Valley by Francesca Talenti. The Uncanny Valley featured a Robothespian™, which is exactly what it sounds like. He has also written a documentary theatre piece Priceless Gem: An Athlete Story, which tells the stories of UNC athletes. David has worked professionally at South Coast Repertory in Orange County California, The Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and the Karamu Performing Arts Theatre in Cleveland, OH. Some of David’s favorite projects were at the Dallas Children’s Theater where he made a dinosaur collapse and pirates walk the plank.

 

DRAM 85-001: Documentary Theatre

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Aubrey Snowden

This course explores the political and social ramifications of documentary theatre in the United States. Students will investigate a local community of their choosing and create an interview-based performance. Honors version available.

Aubrey Snowden

 

ECON 101H-01F: Introduction to Economics

FY Launch | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Sergio Parreiras | Lab/Recitation: ECON 101H-601

Introduction to fundamental issues in economics including competition, scarcity, opportunity cost, resource allocation, unemployment, inflation, and the determination of prices.

Sergio Parreiras

Professor Parreiras has broad research interests in economics of information and game theory. His most recent research has concentrated on auctions and mechanism design. His recent publications include papers in the Journal of Economic Theory and Games and Economic Behavior.

 

EMES 53-001: The Ends of the Earth: Polar Oceanography and Exploration

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Carol Arnosti

What explains the ‘pull of the Poles’? What motivated early explorers to undergo great hardships to investigate the Arctic and Antarctic, and what did they discover about these regions? What have we discovered in the intervening decades, and what do we still not understand about polar regions? Why do the Arctic and Antarctic play such a critical role in global climate? This seminar will combine scientific and historical perspectives to investigate the ‘ends of the earth’, the Arctic and Antarctica. We will begin by surveying the geography and oceanography of these regions, and then step back into the past and follow in the footsteps of some of the early polar explorers through their own accounts of their explorations. Modern accounts will help us compare and contrast these early explorations. The seminar will also include readings and discussions about current questions and problems of the polar regions, in particular human impacts and potential effects of global warming. A ‘Makerspace’ component is an important feature of the class – students will be supplied with materials to work on a design/build challenge, testing, revising, discussing, and consulting with one another to improve their efforts through the course of the semester. This ‘making’ experience is highly relevant to the experiences of early polar explorers as well as modern oceanographers, who often have to improvise and fix or build or create things on the spot, with materials at hand, in order to solve specific problems. Note that no experience in Makerspace, and no design or build experience, is assumed, expected, or required for this seminar. There are no prerequisites for this seminar.

Carol Arnosti

Carol Arnosti grew up in Wisconsin, where she developed an early appreciation for snow and ice. As an undergraduate at Lawrence University, she majored in chemistry, studied history, and played intercollegiate basketball. After completing a Ph.D. in oceanography at M.I.T. and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, she went to the Max-Planck Institute in Bremen, Germany, where she rapidly became involved in a new project investigating microbial life at low temperatures. Continued involvement in this project since moving to Chapel Hill in 1995 has led to repeated research work in the Arctic as well as a trip to Antarctica, and a permanent case of ‘Polar Fever’.

 

EMES 55-001: Change in the Coastal Ocean

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Christopher Martens

This seminar provides students with opportunities to explore recent changes in marine environments caused by the interactions of fascinating oceanographic processes. Class presentations and discussions focus on the work of active marine scientists who combine their traditional disciplinary research with knowledge and skills from other fields as needed to understand new environmental challenges. This cross-cutting scientific approach prepares class members to recognize important connections between traditional disciplines to discover interdisciplinary research areas that they might wish to further explore during their undergraduate careers at Carolina. Each week we read a series of cutting-edge, non-technical research papers focused largely on recent changes in marine ecosystems in preparation for in-class discussions, laboratory demonstrations, and “video- and photo-trip” visits to field sites. We use information from those papers, other course materials and current research at Carolina, to investigate how biological, geological, physical, and geochemical processes interact to influence coastal, open-ocean, and tropical environments. Students are expected to actively participate in discussions during classes, in demonstrations using state-of-the art instrumentation in MASC laboratories, and in “hands on” mini-field experiments (as weather allows) designed to emphasize the importance of the scientific question rather than just the technology involved. Please note that this seminar has no prerequisites.

Christopher Martens

Christopher S. Martens earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from Florida State University in 1972, then moved to Yale to complete two years of postdoctoral study before joining the faculty at UNC in 1974. His current research focuses on how biological processes affect the chemistry of coastal and deep-sea environments, including the expanding role of sponges in coral reef ecosystems, the impacts of recently discovered natural gas seeps found off the North Carolina coast and the fate of the huge volume of hydrocarbons released to the deep sea during the Deepwater Horizon disaster. He publishes widely, has twice been co-recipient of the international Geochemical Society’s Best Paper award in Organic Geochemistry and received the Ketchum Award for Leadership in Coastal Oceanography from the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is an experienced SCUBA, hard helmet, saturation and submersible diver and an underwater videographer. He has received a “Favorite Faculty” award for recognized excellence in undergraduate teaching.

 

EMES 59-001: Extreme Microorganisms: Pushing the Limits of Life on Earth and Beyond

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Andreas Teske

We will expand our horizons in biology by learning about some of the most extreme microorganisms on the planet – microorganisms that thrive without oxygen in deep marine sediments and in the Earth’s crust, under high temperatures in boiling hot springs or in superheated deep-sea water under high pressure, and under chemical stress factors (high sulfide and heavy metal concentrations) that were once thought to be incompatible with life. Numerous extremophilic (extreme-loving) microorganisms of different metabolic types have been isolated in the laboratory as pure cultures; others have been observed in Nature but have so far resisted cultivation. Extremophiles provide opportunities to study the unusual and strange biochemistry that allows them to thrive in their unique habitats; they are also valuable model systems for potential life on other planets. We will get to know the unusual habitats where extremophiles are found, for example hot springs and volcanic areas on land (Yellowstone) and in the ocean (hydrothermal vents), and we will explore the earliest history of extremophiles as some of the most ancient microorganisms on Earth.

Andreas Teske

Andreas Teske is a biochemist by training, but became fascinated by the microbial world of the oceans and focused his Ph.D. research on the ecology and diversity of marine bacteria that catalyze the sulfur cycle. After completing his Ph.D. at Bremen University and the Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology in Germany in 1995, he spent his postdoc years at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and stayed on as Assistant Scientist. Andreas Teske joined the UNC Marine Sciences faculty in 2002. His research interests include the microbiology of the deep marine subsurface, and microbial ecosystems of petroleum seeps and hydrothermal vents. In search of novel extreme marine microorganisms, he and his students are participating in a wide range of research cruises.

 

EMES 72H-001: Field Geology of Eastern California

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Drew Coleman

Have you ever wanted to stand on a volcano, see a glacier, trace out an earthquake fault, or see the Earth’s oldest living things? This seminar is designed around a one-week field trip to eastern California, where students will study geologic features including active volcanoes, earthquake-producing faults, and evidence for recent glaciation and extreme climate change. Before the field trip (which will take place the week of Fall Break and be based at a research station near Bishop, California), the class will meet twice a week to learn basic geologic principles and to work on developing field research topics. During the field trip students will work on field exercises (e.g., mapping, measuring, and describing an active fault; observing and recording glacial features) and collect data for the research projects. After the field trip, students will obtain laboratory data from samples collected during the trip and test research hypotheses using field and laboratory data. Grading will be based on presentation of group research projects, and on a variety of small projects during the trip (notebook descriptions, mapping projects, etc.). Students may be required to pay some of the costs of the trip (typically, about $500.) This course will require missing three days of classes. The course is designed to teach basic geology “on the rocks”, so there are no prerequisites. Link to Yosemite Nature Notes video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5RQp77uVPA

Drew Coleman

Drew Coleman’s research focuses on understanding how the Earth works by determining the rates of processes (mountain building, extinction, volcanism, etc.) that occurred in the past. To accomplish this he and his students date rocks. His teaching is inquiry based and he is most happy when he is teaching “hands on” in the field or lab.

 

ENEC 201-01F: Introduction to Environment and Society

FY Launch | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:10 AM | Instructor(s): Gregory Gangi | Lab/Recitation: ENEC 201-735, ENEC 201-736

Human-environment interactions are examined through analytical methods from the social sciences, humanities, and sciences. The focus is on the role of social, political, and economic factors in controlling interactions between society and the environment in historical and cultural contexts. Three lecture hours and one recitation hour a week.

Gregory Gangi

In his teaching, Greg Gangi conveys a complex understanding of environmental challenges and explores innovative solutions. His teaching extends beyond the classroom as he leads students to many countries to learn firsthand about global change and innovation. He organized several educational trips to Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordic nations. Given the role that South Korea and China play in shaping the future of technology, he plans to guide students in learning from these two nations during the summer of 2019.

Gangi received various awards at UNC and a national award for his advising and mentoring of students. In 2014, he was awarded the NACADA Award for Outstanding Faculty Advisor. He received the Tanner Award for Teaching Excellence in 2010 and the University recognized him with the Massey Award for Outstanding Service in 2018.

In addition to his teaching, Gangi works to create networks in North Carolina between industry, academia, and government to help strengthen innovation. He also seeks to foster international networks that connect companies in the Clean Tech sector with North Carolina. He defines clean technology broadly to include companies in clean energy, smart cities, water technologies, innovations to make transportation more sustainable, building technologies and solutions that improve food security and agricultural sustainability. He is the lead organizer of the annual UNC Clean Tech Summit, which represents the largest event of its kind in the southeastern region of the United States.

 

ENEC 89-001: How Green are We? Examining Campus Sustainability at UNC

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Amy Cooke

How sustainable is our university? Cities around the world face issues of environmental degradation, congested traffic, poor water supplies, sanitation concerns, poor energy delivery and waste management. A research university is analogous to a small city, where we can both investigate and more easily implement sustainable technologies and practices. In this class we will examine the sustainability concerns of the modern university, going “back of the house” around UNC—how green is our energy? Our food? Our water? How do we handle waste across these inputs? We will examine how sustainability is measured and improved, comparing our institution’s progress to other similar schools, and ask ourselves both where we can do better and how we can convince the system to make it happen. This year our focus will be on sustainability and waste management.

Amy Cooke

Amy Cooke is fascinated by the intersection of environmental science and everyday life. This fascination led her to wander around the world asking people about their food, water supplies, clothing and shelter, from the Galapagos Islands to the Serengeti Plains. Here at UNC, she has worked closely with both Edible Campus and the sustainable food purchasing project in the dining halls and loves to take students 'backstage' around campus.

 

ENGL 57-001: Future Perfect: Science Fictions and Social Form

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Matthew Taylor

What will our world look like in ten years? Fifty? One hundred? Will the future be a utopian paradise or a dystopian wasteland? Through a wide-ranging survey of popular science writing, novels, and films, this first year seminar will examine fictional and nonfictional attempts to imagine the future from the nineteenth century to the present. We will explore everything from futurology and transhumanism to warnings of imminent environmental collapse. Our focus will be less on assessing the accuracy of these predictions and more on determining what they tell us about the hopes and fears of the times in which they were made. The course will culminate in a short research paper on a future-oriented topic of your choosing.

Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor’s research focuses on the intersections among environmental humanities, critical theory (including posthumanism, biopolitics, science and technology studies, and critical race theory), and nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature. His first book, Universes without Us: Posthuman Cosmologies in American Literature (Univ. of Minnesota Press), examines cosmologies that challenge the utopianism of both past and present attempts at fusing self and environment.

 

ENGL 66-001: Blake 2.0: William Blake in Popular Culture

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Joseph Viscomi

William Blake, the visionary poet, artist and printmaker of the British Romantic period, has had enormous influence on modern art and popular culture. His illuminated poetry integrated word and image anticipating graphic novels and influencing many modern musicians, poets, writers (including Pullman, His Dark Materials Trilogy, Bono, Patti Smith and Jim Morrison). Using the Blake Archive, a hypertext of Blake’s poetry and art, we will study key Blake works as well as the digital medium that enables us to study these works in new ways. We will also explore the Web for performances and adaptations of the works we study and for works by musicians, painters, poets, writers, actors, playwrights, performers, dancers and film and video makers who were or are inspired or influenced by Blake. Students will share their discoveries with the class and produce critical or creative responses to a work by Blake or by an influenced artist.

Joseph Viscomi

Joseph Viscomi, the James G. Kenan Distinguished Professor of English Literature, directs and co-edits the William Blake Archive (blakearchive.org). His special interests are British Romantic literature, art, and printmaking and digital humanities. He has co-edited 9 illuminated works for The William Blake Trust and over 172 digital editions of Blake's literary and art works for the Blake Archive. He is the author of Prints by Blake and his Followers, Blake and the Idea of the Book, and Blake’s Printed Paintings: Methods, Origins, Meanings. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Rockefeller Foundation, Getty Foundation, and the National Humanities Center.

 

ENGL 69-001: Entrepreneurial on the Web

FY Seminar | MWF, 11:15 AM – 12:05 PM | Instructor(s): Daniel Anderson

In this class, we will look at the ways writing is evolving as it moves into digital spaces, with a particular focus on how to create an online presence to represent one’s identity and interests. We will learn aspects of web development, how to participate in and develop a social media presence, and how to use multimedia to create messages. These contemporary tasks will be considered in light of historical concerns related to writing and communication. The class will also focus on creativity and the ways in which digital modes of communicating can open spaces for broader participation in the arts and creative expression.

Daniel Anderson

Daniel Anderson is a Professor in the Department of English & Comparative Literature. He is the Director of the University Writing Program. He is also Director the Digital Innovation Lab, where he leads campus digital humanities initiatives. He studies digital rhetoric, digital humanities, humanities data studies, teaching with technology, and alternative approaches to scholarship. His books include Video Scholarship and Screen Composing, Write Now, Connections: A Guide to Online Writing, Writing About Literature in the Media Age, and Beyond Words: Reading and Writing in a Digital Age. He also creates new media performance art and scholarship using the computer screen as a composing space. More information can be found at https://iamdan.org.

 

ENGL 70-001: Courtly Love, Then and Now

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): David J. Baker, David Baker

How have ideas about courtship changed between the twelfth century and today? Just what was “courtly love”? And how has it influenced our own views of romance? Our readings will include literature that defined this influential concept, from medieval Arthurian romances to Renaissance sonnets and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We will trace the influence of these traditions on twentieth-century films such as The Philadelphia Story, and on our popular culture now. In the process, we will explore the history of Western thought about gender relations, and the political and economic implications of our ideas about beauty, sex, and love.

David J. Baker

David J. Baker is Peter G. Phialas Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of Between Nations: Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell and the Question of Britain (1997) and On Demand: Writing for the Market in Early Modern England (2010). With Willy Maley, he is the co-editor of British Identity and English Renaissance Literature (2002) and, with Patricia Palmer, Early Modern Criticism in a Time of Crisis (2022). In 2021, he was a Fulbright fellow in Ireland.

David Baker

David J. Baker is Peter G. Phialas Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of Between Nations: Shakespeare, Spenser, Marvell and the Question of Britain (1997) and On Demand: Writing for the Market in Early Modern England (2010). With Willy Maley, he is the co-editor of British Identity and English Renaissance Literature (2002) and, with Patricia Palmer, Early Modern Criticism in a Time of Crisis (2022). In 2021, he was a Fulbright fellow in Ireland.

 

ENGL 86-001: The Cities of Modernism

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Shinjini Chattopadhyay

In this seminar we will embark on a world tour of modernist cities across the Global North and the Global South including London, Dublin, Paris, Kolkata, Chicago, and New York. We will read fiction and poetry and watch films by James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, Elizabeth Bishop, Mina Loy, Marianne Moore, Sam Selvon, and Satyajit Ray, among others. Modernism has been historically celebrated as an art of the cities. However, this claim has also been contested. In this seminar we will ask the following questions: how does modernism depict the theme of alienation and mental life in the city? How does modernist literature transgress conventions of gender and sexuality within the cityspace? Is the modernist city welcoming to everyone or are there individuals/communities who remain marginalized? What is distinctive about the architecture and urban planning of the modernist city and how does it relate to ideas of environmental sustainability? The course will conclude with students creating a digital storymap on a city of their choice.

Shinjini Chattopadhyay

Dr. Shinjini Chattopadhyay is a scholar of modernist literature. Her research focuses on Irish, British, and transnational modernisms. Her monograph-in-progress, “Plurabilities of the City,” investigates the construction of metropolitan cosmopolitanism in modernist and contemporary novels. Her work has been published in the James Joyce Quarterly, European Joyce Studies, Modernism/Modernity Print+, and elsewhere.

 

ENGL 89-001: One Long Book That's Worth It

FY Seminar | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructor(s): H.M. Cushman

This course guides students slowly and carefully through one extraordinary long book that is well worth the time and effort. Texts vary year to year. Required text: one inexpensive book that you will never want to sell back.

H.M. Cushman

H.M. Cushman is a scholar of early British literature.

 

ENGL 89-002: Human Rights and Literature

FY Seminar | MWF, 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM | Instructor(s): Stephanie DeGooyer

In this class we will investigate the history of human rights from the perspective of literature. We will explore how rights are represented and narrated in novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and how founding declarations—famously, the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)—rely on fictional structures. While attending to some of the more politically contentious issues involved with human rights, such as the claim that universal rights lack political and legal enforcement, we will also consider the following questions: how does fiction help articulate and represent claims to human rights? Why might a political philosopher or legal scholar turn to a work of fiction from the eighteenth century or present day in order to make an argument about human rights? Alongside theoretical and historical writings about human rights we will read authors such as Hannah Arendt, Edmund Burke, Behrouz Boochani, Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Hobbes, Mohsin Hamid, Thomas Paine, Mary Shelley, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Stephanie DeGooyer

Stephanie Degooyer’s research examines intersections between law and literature, with interests in immigration, migration, history of disease and global health, and human rights and humanitarianism. She teaches classes on law and literature, transatlantic and colonial literature, Medical Humanities, and theories and history of the novel. Stephanie Degooyer’s forthcoming book, Acts of Naturalization, (JHUP, 2022) looks to the legal process of naturalization in the long eighteenth century to argue for a new fictional conception of nationality in early modernity. She is currently working on two projects: Asylum Nation: Refugees and the Founding of America, which traces the colonial history of legal concepts such as “asylum” and “refugees” in British common law and early American legal and literary history, and a book project on the history and social function of unidentified bodily remains. She is co-author of The Right to Have Rights (Verso Books, 2018), and co-editor of The Routledge Companion to the Novel (forthcoming 2023). She has written on a variety of topics – immigration, borders, vaccines, disease, and literature – for The Nation, Guardian, Dissent, Boston Review, Lapham’s Quarterly, Humanity, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Public Books.

 

ENVR 89-002: Environment-ECUIPP Lab: Connecting with Communities through Environmental Research for Public Health

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Amanda Northcross

This course is an entry into an undergraduate learning community organized by the Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. The ECUIPP Lab (Environmentally-Engaged Communities and Undergraduate students Investigating for Public health Protection) is a creative community of students, faculty members and practice partners. Students in ENVR 89-001 will become members of the Environment-ECUIPP Lab. Over the course of the semester they will design and conduct research that addresses a pressing environmental health issue in a local community. Students will work with the local community partner to develop a research question and use the resources of the ECUIPP Lab and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering to answer the question through the research process. The course is a hands-on undergraduate research experience.

Amanda Northcross

Professor Amanda Northcross likes to build things and enjoys working together with students and communities to explore environmental health concerns, design field campaigns, and build and deploy networks of sensors to answer environmental health questions. With BS, MS and PhD degrees in chemical and environmental engineering she is passionate about health equity. Dr. Northcross has conducted environmental health and engineering research in Guatemala, Brazil, Nigeria and the United States. She will work together with faculty from UNC’s Water Institute to conduct community-engaged environmental research with first year students.

 

EXSS 89-001: Brain Matters: The Human Computer

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Jason Mihalik

Brain Matters: The Human Computer will explore one of the greatest anatomical and physiological mysteries known to us: the brain. The brain contains over 100 billion neurons allowing the human brain to serve as the hub for everything we do, say, or feel. It is by far the most complex and sophisticated ‘computer’ in existence. Together, we will explore this vast unknown. We will discuss and explore topics ranging from anatomy, neurodevelopment, decision-making, maturation, disease, and other topics related to our cerebral computers. The seminar will use examples from research and mass media to complement the teaching materials in the seminar. You will have opportunities to work together, present your work, submit reaction papers, and participate in class discussion on these topics. The seminar is intended for all first-year students—regardless of intended major—interested in neuroscience.

Jason Mihalik

Dr. Jason Mihalik (he/him/his) is a professor in EXSS where he directs the Matthew Gfeller Center. In these roles, he has studied civilian and military traumatic brain injury (TBI) for the past 20 years, publishing over 170 peer-reviewed publications on these topics. His work has contributed to changing rules and policies in several major sports, concussion legislation in our state, clinical programs to help Veterans and first responders, and has secured congressional funding to support ongoing military research. He is looking forward to the opportunity to translate high level neuroscience concepts into an engaging learning experience for first year Carolina students.

 

FOLK 89-001: Title and instructor TBD

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): TBD
 

GEOG 50-001: Mountain Environments

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Diego Riveros-Iregui

Mountains cover one quarter of the Earth’s land surface and represent the home to one quarter of the human population. This first-year, honors seminar examines the physical and human geography of mountain environments and the processes that have created them, shaped them, and sustained them over time scales from minutes to millions of years. The course is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the extraordinary life of German geographer Alexander von Humboldt and his five-year expedition to the Andes Mountains where he observed and described nature as we understand it today: an interconnected global force with similarities and differences across the world that are subject to human-induced change. The second part explores mountain processes that shape the landscape and create patterns that are apparent to us today. The third part examines the concept of scale in space and time, and evaluates examples from the latest peer-reviewed literature and popular media. Students should expect to read – and be prepared to discuss – an average of three readings per week, ranging from technical articles to newspaper reports. Throughout the semester, students will gain familiarity and confidence leading in-class discussions, nurturing critical thinking skills that extend well beyond mountain environments.

Diego Riveros-Iregui

Diego Riveros-Iregui is the Bowman and Gordon Gray Professor of Geography and the Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research group investigates ecohydrology, forest and soil processes, and landscape responses to environmental change. He has worked in mountainous watersheds across the U.S. and Latin America, including conifer forests of the Rocky Mountains, temperate forested mountains, volcanic islands, tropical highland forests, and tropical alpine grasslands. Riveros-Iregui holds a B.S. in geology from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, an M.S. in hydrogeology from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in watershed hydrology from Montana State University. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder and an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska prior to moving to UNC in 2013. He is recipient of the J. Carlyle Sitterson Award for Teaching First-Year Students, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Fulbright Scholar Award, and UNC’s Faculty Award for Global Excellence.

 

GEOG 56-001: Local Places in a Globalizing World

FY Seminar | MWF, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructor(s): Ruth Matamoros Mercado

Globalization is a word we hear every day, but what does it mean for us in local places? Specifically, what can an understanding of globalization tell us about Carolina and nearby places? This seminar weaves together perspectives on globalization with hands-on exploration of Carolina and its place in today’s global “knowledge economy,” and the University’s founding in relation to the globalizing forces of that day. Our focus will shift back and forth between the global and the local, even to the microscale of our campus. We will learn through a variety of experiences and approaches, including fieldwork, old documents, and some introductory GIS (geographic information systems) exercises in addition to readings, class discussion, and group work. By the end of the seminar, students will not only have an understanding of globalization and the very real connections between the global and the local, but also a unique perspective on our university.

Ruth Matamoros Mercado

 

GLBL 221-01F: The Migratory Experience

FY Launch | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Carmen Huerta-Bapat

The course will critically analyze the migrant experience in North America and Europe with a focus on the experience of migrants from Mexico. Although the popular media often portrays migrants as agentless individuals making haphazard decisions, migration is a calculated decision that individuals, families, and groups make to improve their living conditions. We will explore the motivation of migrants, the nature of the migrant journey to their destination states, and their integration and adaptation into their new host societies. Through historical readings, selected works of literature, documentaries and my own firsthand lived experiences as a Latina immigrant, we will examine what motivates and drives their choices, what guides their actions, and what keeps them grounded during their perilous journey.

By the end of the course, students will:
• Develop a clear understanding of the theories driving migration and the various motivations (forced or voluntary) of individuals embarking in this journey.
• Become familiarized with the policies implemented by sending and receiving countries.
• Understand the reception and backlash migrants face.

Carmen Huerta-Bapat

Carmen Huerta-Bapat holds a PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, an MA in sociology from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and an MA in political science from Rice University. She proudly ‘sampled’ multiple PhD programs before settling on sociology, which gives her a multi-faceted understanding of how knowledge is generated, as well as various methodological techniques. Her current research takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how institutions work to incorporate underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, with a particular focus on immigrant communities. Specifically, her work examines how schools, universities, and police agencies react to the arrival of new migrant communities. She is currently pursuing projects that examine police behavior toward Latino immigrants in North Carolina, the social and health impacts associated with persecutory immigration policies, the negative impacts of microaggressions on first-generation college students, and parental involvement of Latino families in public education. Dr. Huerta-Bapat is currently drawing on her social science training and lived experience as a Latina immigrant in a project with the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her work aims to design health interventions with marginalized communities to ensure that these actions are grounded in mutual understanding and respect.

 

GSLL 51-001: Stalin and Hitler: Historical Issues in Cultural and Other Perspectives

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): David Pike

This course deals with critical issues, in the broadest possible context, that dominated the twentieth century: the rise of fascism out of the carnage of World War One and the Bolshevik revolution to which the war and Czarist Russia’s involvement in it helped contribute. As the semester unfolds, drawing on a variety of historical and documentary films, and literature (memoirs, novels), we will take a comparative look at singular personalities like Lenin, Stalin and Hitler and examine the role played by such key figures in historical events of this magnitude. More towards the end of the semester, we glance briefly at the situation created in Western and Eastern Europe by the defeat of fascism and contemplate the origins and evolution of the cold war. We conclude with a consideration of the dissolution and democratization of Eastern European countries, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and, against the tragic background of the past, the recent reemergence of conflict between Russia and the “West.”

David Pike

David Pike received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1978 in German Studies with a minor in Russian and has taught at UNC–CH since 1980. He is the author of three books, The Politics of Culture in Soviet -Occupied Germany, 1945-1949 (1993), Lukács and Brecht (1985), and German Writers in Soviet Exile, 1933-1945 (1982). His research takes him regularly to Berlin and Moscow.

 

GSLL 56-001: Germans, Jews, and the History of Anti-Semitism

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Adi Nester | Same as: JWST 56-001

This seminar offers first-year students an introduction to the German-Jewish experience and the history of anti-semitism in Germany, from early modernity to the present day. Students in this seminar will learn to analyze a variety of texts (both literary and philosophical), musical works, and films in relation to the history of Jews in German-speaking countries, and will be able to apply their knowledge to their analysis of present-day manifestations of antisemitism and xenophobia in Germany. The course has no requisites and presumes no prior knowledge of the subject matter.

Adi Nester

Adi Nester received her Ph.D. in German Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder and holds additional degrees in Musicology and Piano Performance from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Southern California. She joined the department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at UNC in fall 2020. Adi’s research focuses on German-Jewish Studies and the intersection of literature, music, theology, and politics in the cultures and traditions of German-speaking countries.

 

GSLL 80-001: Not Just Dogs: Animals in Russian Literature

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Radislav Lapushin

This seminar explores the “question of the animal” in the works of major Russian writers (Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov) and introduces students to the main theoretical texts on the animal/human relationship (Nietzsche, Levinas, Derrida, Irigaray). Among the topics to be discussed are the animal as the other, animal and human natures, dominance and submission, ethics of the human/animal relations, and the theme of “talking” animals.

Radislav Lapushin

Radislav Lapushin, Associate Professor of Russian Literature, received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. His primary research interests are Chekhov; interrelationship between prose and poetry; and Russian literature on stage and screen. His well-received book, Dew on the Grass: The Poetics of Inbetweenness in Chekhov, focuses on the poetic dimensions of Anton Chekhov’s prose and drama. An author of several volumes of Russian poetry, his most recent collection, Dog Poetry (Boston, 2016), dovetails nicely with the topic of this seminar.

 

GSLL 83-001: We, Robots: Identifying with our Automated Others in Fiction and Film

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Eliza Rose

The word “robot” was invented by Czech author Karel Čapek in 1920. Science fiction has had a long-running obsession with robots: fiction and film portray robots who have mastered and even surpassed the strange art of being human. Meanwhile, in contemporary robotics, to build a robot capable of walking is a difficult and costly feat of engineering. In this class, we will read and watch stories about robots from East and Central Europe with frequent detours into American culture. Students will use fiction to develop critical perspectives on technology’s place in today’s world and to think creatively about the future. Students will learn and practice methods of writing from the traditional comparative essay to creative writing, research reports, and film reviews. Films will be screened with English subtitles. All readings and discussions will be in English.

Eliza Rose

Eliza Rose is Assistant Professor and Laszlo Birinyi Sr. Fellow in Central European Studies in the Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages and Literatures. She researches art, film and science fiction from Poland and East Central Europe. Her in-progress book project, Working the Base: Alloys of Art and Industry in the People’s Poland, is a cultural history of art and film in the industrial workplace in late-socialist Poland. She is an author of science fiction and alumna of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop. Her stories can be found in Interzone and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and have been translated into Polish and French.

 

HIST 51-001: Latin American Revolutions

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Andrew Walker

This course explores the problem of revolutionary upheaval in Latin American history, from the revolutionary wars of the independence era (1810-1825) to revolutionary episodes of the 20th century.

Andrew Walker

 

HIST 62-001: Nations, Borders, and Identities

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Sarah Shields

Rally around the Flag! Leaders’ calls to action on behalf of the nation has led to common action against invasion, disaster, and disease. Similar exhortations have preceded aggression, exclusion, and hostility. How have people defined their collective identities? What roles do borders have in creating–and separating–nations? What kinds of other identities motivate people, and why do we assume it is nationalism that dominates history? We will use a variety of historical sources to analyze the ways collective identities have defined the past.

Sarah Shields

Sarah Shields has been at UNC for decades, and both of her children have graduated wearing Tar Heel blue. She teaches courses on the modern Middle East, the conflict over Israel/Palestine, the history of Iraq, and a variety of courses on water in the Middle East. Her current research is on the Middle East and the establishment of borders after World War I. She has enjoyed teaching at UNC so much that she has even accompanied UNC students to programs in Turkey, England, and South Africa.

 

HIST 81-001: Diaries, Memoirs, and Testimonies of the Holocaust

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Karen Auerbach

In ghettos and hiding places during the Holocaust, European Jews and other victims of Nazism recorded their experiences in diaries and other chronicles. Efforts to preserve individual histories continued after the war as survivors wrote memoirs and gave oral testimonies beginning in the earliest postwar years. In this course, students will read diaries, memoirs and literature as well as listen to oral histories to understand the history of the Holocaust through life narratives and to explore tensions between history and memory.

Karen Auerbach

Professor Karen Auerbach is assistant professor of history and Stuart E. Eizenstat Fellow in the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. She is the author of The House at Ujazdowskie 16: Jewish Families in Warsaw after the Holocaust (2013) and editor of Aftermath: Genocide, Memory and History (2015). Prior to arriving at UNC, she taught at universities in Australia and England as well as at Virginia Tech and Brown University. She has lived for extended periods in Poland, where she was based at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw

 

HIST 89-001: Movies and the Medieval Past

FY Seminar | MW, 3:35 PM – 4:50 PM | Instructor(s): Brett Whalen

Depictions of the medieval past in movies reflect the interests, anxieties, politics, and values of those producing, directing, financing, and viewing them. In addition to portraying the medieval past, movies set in the Middle Ages can serve as a mirror for the values of those living in the present, reflecting their sense of history and their own moment in time. In this seminar, we will analyze a number of movies set in the eras of the Middle Ages, considering their merits and drawbacks not only as entertainment, but as a form of historical memory. By pairing historical evidence from the Middle Ages with cinematic representations of the medieval past, students in this class will become better historians, sharper viewers of historical films, and learn more about the Middle Ages.

Brett Whalen

Brett Edward Whalen works on Christian intellectual and cultural history during the European Middle Ages, mainly focusing on the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries. He has published works on the crusades, apocalypticism, pilgrimage, and the medieval papacy. His most recent book, The Two Powers: The Papacy, the Empire, and the Struggle for Sovereignty in the Thirteenth Century (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019), reappraises the epoch-making clashes between two popes, Gregory IX and Innocent IV, and the Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II. He has published articles in journals including The American Historical Review, Traditio, and Viator. Whalen also serves as the series editor for Trivent publishing’s new book series The Papacy and Medieval Christendom: Critical Perspectives. He is currently in the early stages of a research for a new book, Medieval Jesus: The Son of God from the Middle Ages to the Present.

 

IDST 89-001: The Way of Medicine

FY Seminar | T, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM | Instructor(s): John Thorp

Seminar will discuss and explore how health should be defined and various classical and contemporary views of medical practice. Ethical controversies in modern medicine will be discused and anlayzed.

John Thorp

I am the McAllister Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine and have practiced clinical medicine since 1983 in Chapel Hill. My research interests include clinical epidemiology, biomedical ethics, perinatal substance abuse, and preterm birth.

 

INLS 73-001: Smart Cities

FY Seminar | No meeting pattern, – | Instructor(s): Arcot Rajasekar

A smart city is one where the needs of a populace meet the needs of environmental sustainability. The balance between the social and environmental issues is governed by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that power a smart city infrastructure. In this course, we learn about the influence of urban networks, smart city urban planning, energy as a catalyst of sustainable development, smart city infrastructure, sustainable transportation, flow of information and communications, smart grids, digital infrastructure and the role of data and information technology. We will discuss criteria for measuring the smartness of a city, including quality of life, citizen governance, and discuss issues that go towards the making of a future smart city. Several case studies will be presented with guest lecturers invited to present on critical thinking and practices in smart city development. Students will be involved in group projects to assess smartness of cities.

Arcot Rajasekar

Arcot Rajasekar is a Professor in the School of Library and Information Sciences, a Chief Scientist at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) and co-Director of Data Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE) Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A leading proponent of policy-oriented large-scale data management, Rajasekar has several research projects funded by the NSF, NARA, NIH and other funding agencies. Rajasekar has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park and has more than 100 publications in the areas of data grids, digital library, persistent archives, logic programming and artificial intelligence. His latest projects include the Datanet Federation Consortium and the Data Bridge that is building a social network platform for scientific data.

 

JWST 56-001: Germans, Jews, and the History of Anti-Semitism

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Adi Nester | Same as: GSLL 56-001

This seminar offers first-year students an introduction to the German-Jewish experience and the history of anti-semitism in Germany, from early modernity to the present day. Students in this seminar will learn to analyze a variety of texts (both literary and philosophical), musical works, and films in relation to the history of Jews in German-speaking countries, and will be able to apply their knowledge to their analysis of present-day manifestations of antisemitism and xenophobia in Germany. The course has no requisites and presumes no prior knowledge of the subject matter.

Adi Nester

Adi Nester received her Ph.D. in German Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder and holds additional degrees in Musicology and Piano Performance from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Southern California. She joined the department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at UNC in fall 2020. Adi’s research focuses on German-Jewish Studies and the intersection of literature, music, theology, and politics in the cultures and traditions of German-speaking countries.

 

JWST 70-001: Jewish Spain: History and Culture Across the Hispanic World - available in ConnectCarolina soon

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 PM | Instructor(s): Adam Cohn | Same as: ROML 70-001

Jewish life and civilization in Spain have been compared to a drama in which moments of cultural flourishing are mixed with tragedy and exile. This seminar explores the history and culture of the Golden Age of medieval Spanish Jewry, as well as how modern Hispanic cultures have interpreted and reimagined this historical past. We will interrogate how this fascination with Sephardic Jews overlaps with a variety of topics: national identity, anti-Semitism, liberal democracy, colonialism, exile, Holocaust memory, among others. Throughout this journey across time and space, we will think about the relevance of Sepharad, or Jewish Spain, to our present by working with a diverse group of cultural products that includes poetry, paintings, film, memoirs, and novels. The texts we will study come from numerous Hispanic cultures: Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

Adam Cohn

Adam Cohn specializes in modern Spanish literature, with a focus on the nexus of race, diaspora, and Judaism in early twentieth-century Spain. His current research project analyzes the relationship between liberal philosephardic thought and (anti-)colonialism in the Spanish novel. He is also interested in contemporary Jewish culture in Spain, Federico García Lorca, and Spanish Civil War literature. Adam holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and joined Carolina in fall 2023.

 

LING 60-001: How Reading Works: Language, Cognition, and Literacy

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Jennifer Smith

In many societies today, we live our lives surrounded by the written word. But did you ever stop to wonder how reading works? How do we go from looking at symbols on a page, sign, or screen to understanding the writer’s message? How do children learn to read, and what ways of teaching reading would best promote success for all students? We will explore these questions through hands-on analysis of language and writing-system structure, as well as discussion of the primary research literature. Your final course project will address a real-world question about reading, literacy, or reading education from the perspective of language and cognition.

Jennifer Smith

Jennifer Smith first encountered linguistics as a first-year college student looking for ways to combine a love of languages with an interest in science. Her research focuses on the cognitive representation of language sound systems: what kinds of consonants, vowels, and syllables do the languages of the world use, and why? How does the sound-structure system of a language interact with the structure of words or sentences? She has been invited to teach courses and give lectures around the US and abroad, and she was awarded the Chapman Family Fellowship for excellence in teaching at UNC Chapel Hill.

 

LTAM 89-001: The Cuban Revolution

FY Seminar | T, 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM | Instructor(s): Louis Pérez

LTAM 89 will examine facets of one of the transcendental events of the twentieth century in Latin America. Under the auspices of la revolución, Cubans embarked upon an ambitious revolutionary project. Virtually all previously existing national institutions were abolished, modified, or otherwise reorganized in the service of an egalitarian project inscribed into the claim of national sovereignty and self-determination.

The seminar will focus on the origins and development of the Cuban revolution, spanning the years of the insurrectionary war of the 1950s through the present. The seminar will direct attention to in-depth analyses of the salient facets of the Cuban experience of the past fifty years–including the context of social change, relations between Cuba and the United States, the role played by Fidel Castro, change and changelessness in gender and race relations, and the impact of the Cuban revolution in Latin America and the world–all through multi-disciplinary perspectives as a way to arrive at a deeper understanding of the multiple and interacting facets of the revolution.

LTAM 89 has several objectives. First, it seeks to promote the development of knowledge of the complexities of the Cuban revolution, including the antecedents and sources of the revolution, the “whys” and the “hows” of the revolution, the personalities and the policies, the cultural context and political setting of change, and the complicated relationship between Cuba and the United States.

The seminar is also designed to promote skills for the evaluation of conflicting arguments and assessment of multi-disciplinary perspectives, with particular attention given to issues of evidence, disciplinary diversity, and the character of sources. It seeks to develop awareness of the process of critical interpretation and the means with which to make judgments on the Cuban revolution as a transcendental event of twentieth-century Latin America.

But more than the acquisition of specific knowledge relating to Cuba and the Cuban revolution, students will be encouraged to “think through” controversy, to develop analytical frameworks within which to evaluate competing–and often conflicting–claims, and most of all to develop the skills of critical thinking as a method with which to take measure of issues–often controversial issues–that matter.

Emphasis will also be given to the practice of formal writing: the experience of preparing a coherent narrative to convey ideas, render judgments, and craft arguments and to develop the skills necessary for clarity and cogency.

Students will be asked to prepare analytical written assessments of the assigned readings and to engage in thoughtful and respectful discussion and debate in a seminar environment. This implies skills related to the evaluation of information–including scholarly texts, biography, novels, and film–and the formulation of arguments based on newly-acquired knowledge. It involves also a critical reading and formulation of arguments and points of view.

Louis Pérez

Louis Pérez - Principal teaching fields include twentieth-century Latin America, the Caribbean, and Cuba. Recent publications include: Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy, 1770s-1980s (3rd ed., Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003); Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution (5th ed., New York: Oxford University Press, 2014); On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality and Culture (2nd ed., Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007); Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008): The Structure of Cuban History: Meaning and Purpose of the Past (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013). Pérez has served on a number of journal editorial boards, including: Inter-American Economic Affairs, Latin American Research Review, The Americas, and the American Historical Review. He is presently the series editor of “Envisioning Cuba” at the University of North Carolina Press.

 

MATH 231-01F: Calculus of Functions of One Variable I

FY Launch | MWF, 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM | Instructor(s): Jason Metcalfe | Lab/Recitation: MATH 231-626

Calculus is the mathematical study of change or movement. In the course, we will study limits, derivatives, and integrals along with their applications.

Jason Metcalfe

Jason Metcalfe is a Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor and currently is the Chair of the Department of Mathematics. His research speciality is the analysis of partial differential equations, and in particular, he focuses on waves (and the effect of background geometry, such as black holes, on their behavior). Metcalfe has been at UNC since 2007, and he has received the Board of Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and was twice the recipient of his department's teaching award, the Goodman-Petersen Award for Excellence in Teaching.

 

MATH 233-01F: Calculus of Functions of Several Variables

FY Launch | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Yaiza Canzani Garcia | Lab/Recitation: MATH 233-621

Vector algebra, solid analytic geometry, partial derivatives, multiple integrals.

Yaiza Canzani Garcia

 

MUSC 120-01F: Foundations in Music

FY Launch | MW, 10:10 AM – 11:25 AM | Instructor(s): Naomi André

If you are planning on majoring or minoring in music: this course is designed to open up the pathways in music at Carolina for you. It’s an introduction to the different approaches to thinking about and doing music–whether you’re an active performer, an electronic music fiend, a budding music researcher, an entrepreneurial arts administrator in the making…or more! Our classroom meetings expose students to a range of ways to “think about music,” emphasizing the breadth of routes music and sound take through human lives. As a foundational component of the music major and minor, the course emphasizes a range of genres of music making and fosters curious listening. Sometimes we’ll be challenged to think differently about very familiar sounds, sometimes challenged to connect to music very different from that we feel as ours. Expect to leave the semester with a new sense of what music can be for you at Carolina.

Naomi André

 

MUSC 51-001: The Interplay of Music and Physics

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Laurie McNeil, Brent Wissick | Same as: PHYS 51-001

This seminar is for students who are interested in how music is made, how sound is produced in instruments, and how those sounds have been used in music making from ancient times to the present day. Students will study the basics of physics and music: wave motion, resonance, the perception of sound, scales, harmony, and music theory. Students who have never studied physics or music theory are welcome to enroll; there are no prerequisites. We will conduct four laboratory exercises (called etudes) in which students will work in small groups to investigate the acoustics of string, woodwind and brass instruments. Keyboards and percussion will also be considered, and students can pursue their areas of special interest in a research paper. The final project for each student will be a public performance of an original musical composition for an ensemble of instruments that the students have constructed themselves out of found objects. This class is taught in person and does not accommodate remote learners. This class meets in various locations according to a schedule listed on the class website.

Laurie McNeil

Laurie McNeil spent her childhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan before studying Chemistry and Physics at Radcliffe College (Harvard University) and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received her Ph.D. in 1982. After spending two years conducting research at MIT, she moved to Chapel Hill, where she has taught elementary physics, optics, solid-state physics, and materials science. Her seminar grows out of her life as a choral singer (and, earlier, a violinist and recorder player). When not singing with the Choral Society of Durham, she can be found in her laboratory using lasers to study the properties of materials.

Brent Wissick

Brent Wissick has taught cello, chamber music and early music at UNC-CH since 1982; and performs across the US and abroad. But he has had a life-long interest in how instruments work and how sound is made. He loves encouraging musicians to understand some of these issues, and getting a broad range of science students involved in doing “musical” things. He thinks about physics when practicing the cello or viola da gamba, making CD recordings, rehearsing with ensembles, giving lessons and listening to music in a variety of spaces. He still wakes up every morning excited to make and study music with professional colleagues and undergraduates.

 

MUSC 63-001: Music on Stage and Screen

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Anna Gatdula

This seminar is designed to offer students the tools and techniques for understanding multi-media, staged musical works like opera, musical theater, and film. The goal of the seminar is to develop students’ analytical skills in verbal and non-verbal media and to encourage their visualization of the potential and implications of artistic forms and structures. No ability to read music is required. We will discuss musical, visual, and textual narratives, source materials, and the various means by which such multi-media artworks are transmitted to modern audiences.

Anna Gatdula

 

MUSC 89-001: Music and Women's Rights

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Anne MacNeil

This First-Year Seminar is about the history and protest songs of the First and Second Waves of American feminism, from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 – where women declared their equality with men and called for women’s right to vote – to the passage of Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. Issues for discussion include the role of music-making in women’s activism, the practice of writing contrafacts (new words for old tunes), and the intersectionality of women’s rights and civil rights movements.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This First-Year Seminar carries three learning objectives: 1) to introduce students to the roles that music and the writing of new words for old tunes play in women’s activism during the First and Second Waves of American feminism; 2) to foster students’ engagement in self-directed, multi-media research; and 3) to teach students how to present their research online using ArcGIS StoryMaps.

GENERAL EDUCATION PERSPECTIVES

Focus Capacity: Power, Difference & Inequality (FC-POWER)
Reflections & Integration: Research & Discovery (RESEARCH)

Anne MacNeil

Anne MacNeil holds a PhD in the History & Theory of Music from the University of Chicago and a Master’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music. She is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome and the Authority of Record at the Library of Congress on the Renaissance commedia dell’arte actress Isabella Andreini. Prof. MacNeil is also a founding directory of IDEA: Isabella d’Este Archive, an international research consortium that studies the music and culture of Renaissance Italy through the lens of the marchesa of Mantua, Isabella d’Este (1474-1539).

 

NURS 89-001: Navigating and Advocating for Your Wellness

FY Seminar | No meeting pattern, – | Instructor(s): Maureen Baker

Healthcare systems are responsible for fostering the competence and safety of practitioners. Patients and families are integral members of the healthcare team. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that individuals possess the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the complex healthcare system and advocate for high-quality and safe healthcare to ensure their optimal well-being.

Navigating and Advocating for your Wellness is a dynamic and interactive freshman seminar course designed to empower students with the knowledge and skills to become actively engaged participants in their own health and healthcare. Through a combination of expert guest speakers, real-world case studies, and hands-on learning activities, students will explore the principles of patient engagement, the dynamics of the healthcare system, and the critical role of effective communication in healthcare interactions.

Maureen Baker

Dr. Baker, a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, is deeply dedicated to education and inspiring the next generation of nurses. Holding a position as an Apple Distinguished Educator, she spearheads the UNC SON EmpowerEd program, utilizing iPads to enhance nursing education, foster student engagement, and promote scholarly productivity. Her research areas focus on patient engagement and innovation within nursing education.

Driven by a commitment to patient safety, Dr. Baker has redirected her attention from nurses to future patients. Her goal is to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the healthcare system effectively, contributing to the development of a robust culture of safety in healthcare. In her teaching approach, students can anticipate being challenged to employ innovative strategies, fostering both learning and the adoption of critical life skills.

 

PHIL 60-001: Plato's Symposium and Its Influence on Western Art and Literature

FY Seminar | MWF, 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM | Instructor(s): Rory Hanlon

This seminar examines Plato’s philosophical and literary masterpiece, The Symposium, and its influence on later artists and writers: we explore the Symposium itself, the ways in which the Symposium influenced later European artists and writers, and the importance of the Platonic view of love and beauty for modern artists and writers.

Rory Hanlon

Rory Hanlon is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Program for Public Discourse and the Department of Philosophy. Rory’s interests center on Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, especially how the Greek and Roman philosophers thought about the mind, soul, life, and personhood (and this all relates to contemporary philosophy of mind and cognitive science). He also loves film, and so the philosophy of film, film theory, and the presentation of philosophy through film.

 

PHIL 60-002: Plato's Symposium and Its Influence on Western Art and Literature

FY Seminar | MWF, 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM | Instructor(s): Rory Hanlon

This seminar examines Plato’s philosophical and literary masterpiece, The Symposium, and its influence on later artists and writers: we explore the Symposium itself, the ways in which the Symposium influenced later European artists and writers, and the importance of the Platonic view of love and beauty for modern artists and writers.

Rory Hanlon

Rory Hanlon is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Program for Public Discourse and the Department of Philosophy. Rory’s interests center on Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, especially how the Greek and Roman philosophers thought about the mind, soul, life, and personhood (and this all relates to contemporary philosophy of mind and cognitive science). He also loves film, and so the philosophy of film, film theory, and the presentation of philosophy through film.

 

PHIL 63-001: Mind, Brain, and Consciousness

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Ram Neta

Many features of human consciousness are puzzling. Why are people so ready to believe extraordinary claims on the basis of virtually no evidence whatsoever, but unwilling to accept the reality of well-documented phenomena? Why are people repulsed by some very ordinary biological phenomena but not by others? Why do people dream about some things rather than others? Why is it that ordinary events can sometimes make people anxious, even when they can face serious danger with equanimity? Why do we find some things funny and other things not? And why do people feel compelled to act in ways that they know perfectly well will prove disastrous to them? This course will examine psychodynamic theories that attempt to explain these phenomena, and then consider how these features of consciousness end up reflected in philosophy.

Ram Neta

Ram Neta is Professor of Philosophy. He specializes in epistemology and is currently at work on a book on knowledge, rationality, and consciousness.

 

PHIL 86-001: Persons and Identity

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Carla Merino-Rajme

An introduction to the topic of personal identity, focused on epistemological, ethical, and metaphysical themes. The course examines what personal identity over time consists in, whether and how we can know such identity, under what conditions our personal identity is liable to change, and what this implies for our values and projects.

Carla Merino-Rajme

Carla Merino-Rajme is an assistant professor in philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before coming to Chapel Hill, she was an assistant professor of philosophy at Arizona State University and a Bersoff Fellow at New York University. She works mainly in philosophy of mind and metaphysics.

 

PHYS 118-02F: Introductory Calculus-based Mechanics and Relativity

FY Launch | MWF, 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM | Instructor(s): Muxin Zhang | Lab/Recitation: PHYS 118-401

Mechanics of particles and rigid bodies. Newton’s laws; mechanical and potential energy; mechanical conservation laws; frame-dependence of physical laws; Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Students may not receive credit for PHYS 118 in addition to PHYS 104, 114, or 116.

Muxin Zhang

Muxin Zhang received her PhD in Physics Education Research (PER) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2023 with Dr. Eric Kuo. Her thesis focused on analyzing cognitive and socio-emotional aspects of small group interactions in physics discussion sections and labs. She is particularly passionate about understanding the role of emotions in science education and scientific practices. She is currently teaching (and learning to teach) the Physics 114 course at UNC-CH.

 

PHYS 118H-02F: Introductory Calculus-based Mechanics and Relativity

FY Launch | MWF, 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM | Instructor(s): Amy Oldenburg | Lab/Recitation: PHYS 118H-402

Mechanics of particles and rigid bodies. Newton’s laws; mechanical and potential energy; mechanical conservation laws; frame-dependence of physical laws; Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Students may not receive credit for PHYS 118 in addition to PHYS 104, 114, or 116.

Amy Oldenburg

Dr. Oldenburg is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and directs the Coherence Imaging Laboratory at UNC. Her federally-funded research program involves the development of novel optical biomedical imaging technologies and nanoparticle probes for elucidating tissue mechanical and nanoscopic properties.

 

PHYS 51-001: The Interplay of Music and Physics

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Laurie McNeil, Brent Wissick | Same as: MUSC 51-001

This seminar is for students who are interested in how music is made, how sound is produced in instruments, and how those sounds have been used in music making from ancient times to the present day. Students will study the basics of physics and music: wave motion, resonance, the perception of sound, scales, harmony, and music theory. Students who have never studied physics or music theory are welcome to enroll; there are no prerequisites. We will conduct four laboratory exercises (called etudes) in which students will work in small groups to investigate the acoustics of string, woodwind and brass instruments. Keyboards and percussion will also be considered, and students can pursue their areas of special interest in a research paper. The final project for each student will be a public performance of an original musical composition for an ensemble of instruments that the students have constructed themselves out of found objects. This class is taught in person and does not accommodate remote learners. This class meets in various locations according to a schedule listed on the class website.

Laurie McNeil

Laurie McNeil spent her childhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan before studying Chemistry and Physics at Radcliffe College (Harvard University) and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received her Ph.D. in 1982. After spending two years conducting research at MIT, she moved to Chapel Hill, where she has taught elementary physics, optics, solid-state physics, and materials science. Her seminar grows out of her life as a choral singer (and, earlier, a violinist and recorder player). When not singing with the Choral Society of Durham, she can be found in her laboratory using lasers to study the properties of materials.

Brent Wissick

Brent Wissick has taught cello, chamber music and early music at UNC-CH since 1982; and performs across the US and abroad. But he has had a life-long interest in how instruments work and how sound is made. He loves encouraging musicians to understand some of these issues, and getting a broad range of science students involved in doing “musical” things. He thinks about physics when practicing the cello or viola da gamba, making CD recordings, rehearsing with ensembles, giving lessons and listening to music in a variety of spaces. He still wakes up every morning excited to make and study music with professional colleagues and undergraduates.

 

PHYS 53-001: Handcrafting in the Nanoworld: Building Models and Manipulating Molecules

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Otto Zhou

This seminar provides a general introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology, focusing on recent advances in molecular electronics, nanomaterials, and biomedical research. Course activities include group model-building projects, presentations, and discussions of reading material.

 

PHYS 55-001: Introduction to Mechatronics

FY Seminar | MW, 10:10 AM – 11:25 AM | Instructor(s): Stefan Jeglinski | Lab/Recitation: PHYS 55-401 (12 seats), PHYS 55-402 (12 seats)

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary synergy of STEM fields, specifically physics, engineering, electronics, and computer science. All students, regardless of their educational goals, will achieve critical introductory skills in numerical reasoning and analysis, model-building and prototyping, computer programming and electronics, and will demonstrate proficiency and knowledge about topics that increasingly impact society. The course focuses on four areas: Numeracy and Proportional Reasoning, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing, Computer Technology (Programming and Electronics), and Current and Future technologies (aka, shall we welcome our new mechatronic overlords – robotics, AI, quantum computing, with a new emphasis on disruptive technologies such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion). The course goals are to prepare students for academic success at UNC, to help science students be more capable scientists, and to help ALL students be stronger and better-informed citizens of the world.

Stefan Jeglinski

In a previous 30-year private-sector career, Stefan Jeglinski designed and built instrumentation, learned to program from scratch, and performed R&D for large and small companies. For five years he was actually a rocket scientist, so when he says “this ain’t rocket science,” he knows what he’s talking about! He broke away from rockets to complete his PhD in experimental condensed matter physics at the University of Utah, and then returned to industry where he spent over 15 years in all aspects of product development for electron microscopy. He landed at UNC in 2010 to share everything he’s learned and to study new disruptive technologies. In addition to his love of teaching physics, he brings a lifetime of real-world experience and stories about building, making, and engineering across disciplines.

 

PLAN 59-001: World's Fairs

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Alainna Thomas

This course introduces students to World’s Fairs in the US between 1893 and 1965 (1884 World Cotton Centennial, New Orleans; 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago; 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Saint Louis; 1939 New York World’s Fair; 1962 Seattle World’s Fair; 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair). We will look at how ideas about cities and world’s fairs changed over time. We will also look at the role World’s Fairs played in: (1) promoting a city’s place in the US and the world, (2) addressing social issues, and (3) disseminating ideas about progress. We will learn about world’s fairs through documentaries (video/audio), texts, as well as examine memorabilia from each of the Fairs. Students will be responsible for participating in weekly discussions on readings and biweekly journal responses. Students will work on a group project on a world’s fair and present at the end of the semester. This project can use traditional means of presentations–such as PowerPoint and posters, or it could be a podcast (5 minutes), video, or some other media.

Alainna Thomas

Dr. Allie Thomas looks at how technology can be used to address both environmental sustainability and social equity within the transportation sector. She relies upon qualitative methods to investigate the phenomenon of how and why technologies are accepted or rejected She sometimes embeds herself in the planning context to learn where the process succeeds or breaks down. Her work has looked bus rapid transit adaption in China, electric bikes in San Francisco, and the use of ridehailing services across Generation X and millennials in the Southeastern US. She is currently working on understanding how transit agencies adapt cashless fare technologies.

 

PLAN 89-001: Planning the Night

FY Seminar | TH, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM | Instructor(s): Matthew Palm

As societies have urbanized and globalized, daytime activities have increasingly encroached on the night. These changes hold significant ramifications for public health, social equity, and urban ecology, among other things. Yet many of the activities that take place overnight have long been essential to the functioning of daytime societies: truckers, cleaners, snow removers and sidewalk-salters work the nights to ensure our cities are stocked, cleaned, and greased by day. At the same time, urban night-life has incubated cultural transformations and localized ‘culture wars.’ This course will introduce students to foundational urban planning concepts through the lens of ‘nightology,’ examining the ways in which everything from environmental regulations and zoning to sexual expression, counterculture, and the survival of endangered species have been shaped by humanity’s evolving relationship with the night.

Matthew Palm

Dr. Matthew Palm has a passion for public transportation and advancing the economy and society through better infrastructure planning. He will talk your ear off about shift workers, and why planners should do more to support the workforce of our 24-hour economy. His published work covers transportation and housing topics across the USA, Canada, and Australia. His work has been featured in leading news outlets in all three countries, and he endeavours to incorporate this global perspective in all his courses.

 

PLCY 54-001: U.S. Immigration

FY Seminar | TTH, 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM | Instructor(s): Joaquín Rubalcaba

This seminar provides students with an opportunity to discuss current topics in United States immigration. Students will explore theories of migration, acculturation and assimilation, and the ways in which policies influence the well-being of immigrants.

Joaquín Rubalcaba

Joaquín Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Policy at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Rubalcaba received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Mexico and is an alumnus of the RWJF doctoral fellows program. His areas of interests broadly include health and labor economics. Specifically, he has explored the health and labor market outcomes among underrepresented and disadvantaged communities, while developing new empirical techniques to investigate the economic mechanisms and public policies driving these outcomes.

Currently, Dr. Rubalcaba’s research addresses the role of public policy in the overall socioeconomic wellbeing of immigrant communities. In this line of research, he investigates how policies such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the Real ID Act have impacted labor supply behavior and health insurance coverage. In another line of research, Dr. Rubalcaba is exploring new empirical techniques to estimate economic values. This particular research has demonstrated an empirically tractable method to assign economic value to health conditions, such as diabetes, ultimately increasing the economic tools used to inform policy decisions.

 

PLCY 61H-001: Policy Entrepreneurship and Public/Private/Non-Profit Partnerships

FY Seminar | MW, 1:25 PM – 2:40 PM | Instructor(s): Daniel Gitterman

This seminar will define a policy entrepreneur and examine strategies used by policy entrepreneurs to achieve policy change or innovation in the policy making process. This course also aims to explore ways that public, private, and non-profit sectors collaborate to address problems that cannot be solved by one sector alone. There is growing recognition that sustainable solutions to some of the most complex challenges confronting our communities can benefit from these collaborative or “intersector” approaches.

Daniel Gitterman

Daniel Gitterman is Duncan MacRae ’09 and Rebecca Kyle MacRae Professor of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He also serves as Director of the Honors Seminar in Public Policy and Global Affairs (Washington, DC).

 

PLCY 75-001: Debates in Public Policy and Racial Inequality

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Cassandra Davis

This course is designed to introduce students to debates about the impact of policies on inequalities in the United States. We will begin the class by reviewing work on inequalities more broadly. At the beginning of the semester, we will touch on topics like Black Lives Matter, historical oppression, systemic racism, and Whiteness. From there, we will move to investigate the use of education policy as a tool to maintain inequalities within the United States. We will tackle areas such as Indian boarding schools, the desegregation of schools, academic tracking, criminalization of Black and Brown students, and achievement testing.

Cassandra Davis

Dr. Cassandra Davis is a Research Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Within the last four years, Dr. Davis has held the role of principal investigator on five research evaluations, with the most recent of these projects focused on the impacts of hurricanes on schools, educators, and students in low-income communities. Dr. Davis has also collaborated with school districts to assist them with improving graduation rates of underrepresented groups, supporting students with learning differences, identifying opportunity and achievement gaps amongst students, assessing the quality of professional development training for school personnel, and investigating ways to engage parents. Dr. Davis’ areas of interest include education policy, the impact of natural disaster on schools and communities, program evaluation, qualitative research methods, and the social and historical context in education. Dr. Davis holds a Ph.D. in Education from UNC Chapel Hill.

 

PLCY 76-001: Global Health Policy

FY Seminar | TTH, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Instructor(s): Benjamin Meier

Global health policy impacts the health and well being of individuals and peoples throughout the world. Many determinants of health operate at a global level, and many national policies, social practices, and individual health behaviors are structured by global forces. Concern for the spread of infectious diseases, increasing rates of chronic diseases and the effectiveness of health systems to provide quality care are among the daunting challenges to health policy makers.

With profound social, political and economic changes rapidly challenging global health, the aim of this course in Global Health Policy is to provide students with a variety of opportunities to understand the epidemiologic trends in world health, the institutions of global health governance, and the effects of globalization on global and national health policy.

This course provides an introduction to the relationship between international relations, global health policy and public health outcomes. The focus of this course will be on public policy approaches to global health, employing interdisciplinary methodologies to understand selected public health policies, programs, and interventions. Providing a foundation for responding to global health harms, this course will teach students how to apply policy analysis to a wide range of critical issues in global health determinants, interventions, and impacts.

Benjamin Meier

Professor Benjamin Meier’s interdisciplinary research—at the intersection of international law, public policy, and global health—examines the human rights norms that underlie global health policy. In teaching UNC courses in Justice in Public Policy, Health & Human Rights, and Global Health Policy, Professor Meier has been awarded the 2011 William C. Friday Award for Excellence in Teaching, the 2013 James M. Johnston Teaching Excellence Award, the 2015 Zachary Taylor Smith Distinguished Professorship in Undergraduate Teaching, and six straight annual awards for Best Teacher in Public Policy. He received his Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University, his J.D. and LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Cornell Law School, and his B.A. in Biochemistry from Cornell University.

 

PLCY 87-001: Education in a Multicultural Society

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Simona Goldin

This course focuses on education in the multicultural society of the United States. Diversity has been at the center of the American educational story, as society has continued to struggle with competing goals of assimilation and diversity, opportunity, and competition. The American dream that promises a better life through education has played out unevenly for different groups. This course aims to help students develop new understandings of the role and nature of schools and teaching, as well as to construct alternative perspectives on and approaches to examining educational issues. It will study inequality in public education in a way that is place-based, featuring extended opportunities for engaged learning in and around UNC.

Simona Goldin

Dr. Simona Goldin is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Public Policy. Dr. Goldin has studied ways to transform the preparation of beginning teachers to teach in more racially just and equitable ways, and has elaborated the teaching practices that bridge children’s work in schools on academic content with their home and community-based experiences. Dr. Goldin holds a master’s degree in management and urban policy analysis from the New School University, and a Ph.D. in educational studies from the University of Michigan.

 

POLI 57-001: Democratic Governance in Contemporary Latin America

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Jonathan Hartlyn

Over the past forty years, Latin America has experienced the most prolonged and extensive period of democratic politics in its history. State power today is accessed through reasonably competitive and fair elections in many countries in the region, in contrast to past patterns of openly authoritarian rule. This democratic shift, though, has often been challenged by serious problems with political representation and the effective inclusion of citizens, and in some cases with more serious setbacks. The way power is practiced by those in power reflects historical continuities and new forms of corruption or other types of abuses of state resources, as well as various forms of populism. With important variations across the region, countries have struggled to respond effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic, and more broadly to provide citizen security, economic development and social inclusion.

Jonathan Hartlyn

Jonathan Hartlyn is the Kenneth J. Reckford Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He grew up in Latin America, in Cuba, Mexico and Peru. He received his B.A. from Clark University, and a M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Yale University. His research and teaching interests focus on the comparative politics of Latin America. He spent several months in Argentina in fall 2017 advancing on his current research on democratic governance in the region. He also has on-going research on constitutional change in Latin America and on the dynamics of executive approval. He has authored or co-authored dozens of articles and chapters on democratic transitions, gender and politics, migration and political parties, public opinion and institutional trust, and elections and electoral governance. His books include: The Politics of Coalition Rule in Colombia; The Struggle for Democratic Politics in the Dominican Republic; and the co-authored Latin America in the Twenty First Century: Toward a New Socio-Political Matrix. His publications have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, German and Persian. He has served as an international election observer in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Venezuela.

 

POLI 77-001: Immigrants and Refugees in World Politics

FY Seminar | TTH, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM | Instructor(s): Niklaus Steiner

The movement of people across international borders is one of the most politically controversial issues in the world today. This class focuses on two different types of global migrants, immigrants and refugees, and explores why these two groups move out of their countries and how they are treated by receiving countries. Immigrants and refugees have traditionally been thought of as politically, legally and ethically different from each other and this class explores these differences, but it also explores the many ways that they are similar. Finally, the class explores a third type of global migrant that politicians and policy makers frequently promote, guest workers, and considers to what extent guest worker policies can effectively address the challenges and opportunities posed by the two other migrant groups. This class encourages students from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to enroll because it benefits significantly from including such diversity.

Niklaus Steiner

Niklaus Steiner is a native of Thun, Switzerland, who moved to Chapel Hill with his family when his father became a professor at Carolina. He earned a bachelor’s degree with highest honors in international studies at UNC and a Ph.D. in political science at Northwestern University. He has had the good fortune of moving between cultures his whole life and because of this experience, his teaching and research interests are around immigration, refugees, human rights, nationalism, and citizenship. His textbook, International Migration and Citizenship Today seeks to facilitate classroom discussions on admission and membership in liberal democracies, and he is currently working on a 2nd edition. Before joining the political science department in 2020, he enjoyed working at UNC’s Center for Global Initiatives, the last 15 as the director, and he is especially proud of the work he and many colleagues from across campus did to bring diversity, equity and inclusion into global education at Carolina. When not at work, Niklaus is often cutting or replanting flowers in the garden, walking in the woods with his family or making something up in the kitchen.

 

POLI 87-001: What Does it Mean to be a Good Citizen?

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Nora Hanagan

What, if any, responsibilities accompany democratic citizenship? Voting? Active participation in political meetings? Obeying laws? Volunteering in one’s community? Preserving natural resources for future generations? Adhering to certain values? Protesting unjust laws? This course offers an overview of the different ways in which Americans have answered these questions.

We will also be developing our oral communication skills this semester through a variety of activities, including active-listening sessions, a structured debate, and a consensus-building workshop. We will also be learning how to run effective group meetings. I realize that public speaking is stressful for many people, and I promise to make this as painless as possible.

Nora Hanagan

Professor Nora Hanagan studies political ideas. She is particularly interested in the ideas that have animated American politics and history. Her book, Democratic Responsibility: The Politics of Many Hands in America, examines whether individuals bear responsibility for harms that are caused by social institutions and processes. She is also affiliated with the Program for Public Discourse and the Philosophy, Politics, and Economic Program. When she isn’t chasing her young children around, she likes gardening and hiking.

 

POLI 89-001: Global Politics of Climate Change

FY Seminar | MW, 3:35 PM – 4:50 PM | Instructor(s): Robert Jenkins

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the politics of climate change at multiple levels of policy making, from global efforts down to local communities. Throughout the course, climate policy is investigated as a result of the interplay of science and politics. At each level of politics, global, regional (EU), country (US), sub-national (US states), and local (regional and city), students will have the opportunity to review existing policy approaches, explore official inter-governmental and governmental policies, and read social science analyses. In addition, at each level, a scientific expert and/or activist will visit class to interact on climate issues. Student participation is required, with the format for class meetings combining a mixture of lectures and discussions as well as expert and activist speakers, video resources, and group presentations.

Robert Jenkins

Dr. Robert Jenkins has a combined thirty years of teaching experience at UNC and Yale University. He regularly teaches courses on international organizations, Transatlantic security, ethnic conflict and international intervention in former Yugoslavia, crises and change in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the comparative political mobilization of race and ethnicity. He has led study abroad programs in the Balkans and Vienna, Brussels and London, and Cape Town, South Africa. Common themes of these experiential programs are the activities of international organizations and conflicts over race and ethnic identity. In the past three years, he has systematically incorporated climate change into his teaching on security and international organizations. Based on this understanding of the growing threat of climate change and the range of global efforts to develop climate policies, he will bring his enthusiasm and passion for teaching and learning to this new course.

 

PSYC 101-01F: General Psychology

FY Launch | MWF, 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM | Instructor(s): Charlie Wiss

PSYC 101 is a prerequisite for all psychology courses. A survey of major principles of psychology and an introduction to scientific modes of thought about behavior. Students participate in ongoing psychological research in the department.

Charlie Wiss

 

PSYC 101-02F: General Psychology

FY Launch | MWF, 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM | Instructor(s): Charlie Wiss

PSYC 101 is a prerequisite for all psychology courses. A survey of major principles of psychology and an introduction to scientific modes of thought about behavior. Students participate in ongoing psychological research in the department.

Charlie Wiss

 

PSYC 58H-001: The Psychology of Mental States and Language Use

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Jennifer Arnold

As adults we constantly make judgments about other people’s beliefs, desires, goals, knowledge, and intentions from evidence like eye gaze and inferences from their words and actions. These judgments together can be called mindreading, or theory of mind (where “theory” refers to the theory someone might hold about another’s mental state, not a scientific theory). This information is known to guide some aspects of language use — for example, you wouldn’t ask someone to hand you “that book” if they don’t know it exists. But sometimes you might ignore what someone else does or does not know – for instance asking someone for “the red book” when that person is sitting in front of two red books. This course examines how children, adults, and individuals with autism infer other people’s mental states, and how they use it to guide decisions during speaking and understanding. This seminar will follow a discussion format.

Jennifer Arnold

Dr. Jennifer Arnold is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She studies the ways that our minds handle the jobs of speaking and understanding. How do speakers choose words and produce them? How do listeners pick out the speaker’s meaning? Her research is guided by questions about how people represent the thoughts, intentions, and mental activities of other people, and how this information influences specific linguistic processes.

 

PWAD 89-015: September 11: Origins, Consequences, and Where Do We Go From Here

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Erinn Whitaker

This first-year seminar will reflect upon the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, exploring how the terrorist attacks occurred and why the U.S. intelligence community and policymakers failed to anticipate and prevent them as well as the subsequent effects on the United States, the Middle East, and the world. The instructor, a former intelligence analyst, will lead students in discussions and in-class exercises to encourage critical analysis of the implications of terrorism, particularly on United States national security. A variety of assignments will require students to assess the causes and results of American national security decisions and alternative decisions that might have been made, supported with research and evidence.

Erinn Whitaker

Erinn Whitaker, a former senior analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and US State Department, is a Professor of the Practice for the Peace, War and Defense Curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With nearly 15 years of experience overseas and in Washington, teaches courses such as “Writing and Briefing for Intelligence,” “Comparative Intelligence Regimes,” and “Cases in Counter Intelligence,” helping students interested in careers ranging from intelligence to public policy to journalism strengthen their written and oral communication skills. Whitaker earned a BA from Middlebury College, where she spent a year studying Russia in Siberia, and a MA from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. She speaks German and Russian.

 

RELI 63-001: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Jodi Magness

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the most important archaeological discovery of the 20th century. The first scrolls were discovered in 1947, in a cave near the site of Qumran by the Dead Sea. Eventually the remains of over 900 scrolls were found in 11 caves around Qumran. The scrolls date to the time of Jesus and include the earliest preserved copies of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). They were deposited in the caves by members of a Jewish sect called the Essenes who lived at Qumran. In this seminar, students explore the meaning and significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls – and learn about broader issues such as how canons of sacred scripture developed among Jews and Christians – through classroom discussions, thought papers, and creative assignments.

Jodi Magness

Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism. Before coming to UNC–Chapel Hill in 2002, she taught at Tufts University for ten years. Professor Magness received her B.A. in Archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. She has participated on numerous excavations in Israel and Greece, and currently directs excavations at Huqoq in Israel. Professor Magness’ publications include a book entitled The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (2021 [second edition]).

 

RELI 70-001: Jesus in Scholarship and Film

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Bart Ehrman

This seminar will examine how historians have reconstructed the life, teachings and death of the historical Jesus. We will look at the Gospels of the New Testament, as well as references to Jesus in other writings (Roman and Jewish sources, as well as Gospels that did not make it into the New Testament). In addition, we will explore how Jesus has been portrayed in modern film, including such Biblical “epics” as The Greatest Story Ever Told, such “period pieces” as Jesus Christ Superstar, such brilliant retellings as Jesus of Montreal and such controversial films as The Last Temptation of Christ and The Passion of the Christ. The ultimate goals of the seminar are to see what we can say about the historical man Jesus himself and how Jesus came to be portrayed in both ancient sources and modern imagination.

Bart Ehrman

Bart Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies. He has taught at Carolina since 1988. He is author or editor of thirty books and is widely regarded as a leading expert on the New Testament and the history of the early Christian church. He is also a well-known teacher on campus, having won the Undergraduate Students Teaching Award, the Bowman and Gordon Gray Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the John William Pope Center Spirit of Inquiry Teaching Award.

 

RELI 71-001: The Spirit of Capitalism

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Eden Consenstein

In 1905 the sociologist Max Weber famously proclaimed that capitalism has a “spirit.” Beyond just determining how we make money and circulate goods, Weber argued, capitalism is deeply entangled with religious ways of life. Both religious and economic systems work together to determine what we aspire to, how we organize communities and how we define our self-worth. Beginning from this insight, this freshman seminar examines the intersection of capitalism and religion through a series of key terms, including “vocation,” “aspiration,” “commodity,” “celebrity,” and more.

Eden Consenstein

Eden Consenstein is a scholar of religion, media, and capitalism in the United States. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies and English from the University of Toronto, an M.A in Religious Studies from New York University, and a Ph.D.in the Religious Studies from Princeton University, where she also completed a certificate from the program in Media and Modernity.

She is currently working on two book projects. The first, Religion at Time Inc.: From the Beginning of Time to the End of Life, is a religious history of the major media corporation best known for Time, Life and Fortune magazines. From 1923 to 1964, Time Inc. (sometimes called the Time-Life Corporation) was run by Henry R. Luce, a self-styled theologian and leading Presbyterian layman who insisted that the press should promote high moral standards rather than aim for objectivity. Through extensive research in Time Inc.’s recently publicized corporate archives and close readings of the magazines Luce edited, Religion at Time Inc. describes how the editor’s political-theological convictions shaped Time Inc.’s media. Her second project, Pyramids of Plenty: Christianity and Multi-level Marketing, will be the first work to trace the historical entanglement of U.S. Christianity, new media, and the multi-level marketing industry.

Eden’s teaching and research interests include religion and media, consumerism and material culture, new religious movements, secularism studies, reality television, and histories of capitalism. Her work has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Eisenhower Foundation, The New-York Historical Society and Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Religion.

 

RELI 73H-001: From Dragons to Pokemon: Animals in Japanese Myth, Folklore, and Religion

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Barbara Ambros

This seminar examines the cultural construction of animals in Japanese myth, folklore, and religion. We will discuss various kinds of animals: those that occur in the natural world, those that are found in myths and folklore, and those that have appeared in popular media such as animation. We will explore how images of various animals were culturally constructed as tricksters, gods, monsters, or anthropomorphic companions; how animals were ritualized as divine, demonic, or sentient beings in Buddhism, Shinto, and folk religion; and how animals could serve as metaphors that embodied collective ideals or anxieties. Most of our readings will focus on primary and secondary texts from the Japanese tradition (in English), but we will also read theoretical texts on human-animal relationships and historical studies on animals in the larger Asian context. We will also view and analyze Japanese films, both anime and documentaries, that deal with animals and environmental issues.

Barbara Ambros

Field of specialization: Religions of Asia. Research interests: Religions in early modern through contemporary Japan; gender studies; animal studies; place and space; and pilgrimage. Fun fact: she holds a fourth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate and serves as the faculty advisor for the UNC Shotokan Club.

 

ROML 70-001: Jewish Spain: History and Culture Across the Hispanic World - available in ConnectCarolina soon

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 PM | Instructor(s): Adam Cohn | Same as: JWST 70-001

Jewish life and civilization in Spain have been compared to a drama in which moments of cultural flourishing are mixed with tragedy and exile. This seminar explores the history and culture of the Golden Age of medieval Spanish Jewry, as well as how modern Hispanic cultures have interpreted and reimagined this historical past. We will interrogate how this fascination with Sephardic Jews overlaps with a variety of topics: national identity, anti-Semitism, liberal democracy, colonialism, exile, Holocaust memory, among others. Throughout this journey across time and space, we will think about the relevance of Sepharad, or Jewish Spain, to our present by working with a diverse group of cultural products that includes poetry, paintings, film, memoirs, and novels. The texts we will study come from numerous Hispanic cultures: Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

Adam Cohn

Adam Cohn specializes in modern Spanish literature, with a focus on the nexus of race, diaspora, and Judaism in early twentieth-century Spain. His current research project analyzes the relationship between liberal philosephardic thought and (anti-)colonialism in the Spanish novel. He is also interested in contemporary Jewish culture in Spain, Federico García Lorca, and Spanish Civil War literature. Adam holds a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and joined Carolina in fall 2023.

 

ROML 89-001: What Language Do Forests Speak?

FY Seminar | MWF, 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM | Instructor(s): Pedro Lopes de Almeida

You may already have read that trees communicate with each other, or that forests are complex networks of resource exchange. But have you ever considered the place of language in plant life? While forests may not exactly think in a language like English (or Portuguese), in this course, we will ask how different cultures have tried to relate to forests through language. By focusing specifically on forests in Portugal, Brazil, and Angola, we will study how poets, novelists, filmmakers, and activists in the Portuguese-speaking world have created different (but interrelated) literatures of the forest, and what we can learn about their cultures, their history, and their entanglements with vegetable worlds through these texts and images. Each week a short essay on vegetable studies (the field of Environmental Studies that has been paying special attention to trees, leaves, plants, and forests) will be paired with a creative piece to help us think in original and unexpected ways about veggie companions in the Portuguese-speaking world. All readings will be provided in English translation, but this course also serves as a general introduction to Portuguese-speaking cultures.

Pedro Lopes de Almeida

Dr. Pedro Lopes de Almeida is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Romance Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Their research focuses primarily on aesthetics and the environment in literature, film, and performance from Brazil, Portugal, and Angola. Their research interests also include literary theory and Portuguese and Brazilian cinema, as well as foreign-language acquisition and curriculum development. They hold a B.A. in Portuguese and Lusophone Studies (2009), an M.A. in Literary, Cultural, and Interart Studies with a specialization in Literary Theory (2012), both from the University of Porto in Portugal, and a Ph.D. in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies from Brown University, USA (2021). For more than a decade, Professor Lopes de Almeida has taught in higher education institutions in the US, having designed a wide range of new courses on Portuguese literatures, cultures, and the environment. They have previously taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2013-2015), and at Brown University (2015-2022). In 2018-2019, Dr. Lopes de Almeida was the recipient of a Mellon Graduate Fellowship in Collaborative Humanities from the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University, and in 2021-2022 they taught at Brown University as a Deans' Faculty Fellow in the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies. In 2023, Professor Lopes de Almeida was distinguished with the Faculty and Postdoctoral LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Award by the University of North Carolina. Their work has been featured in journals and edited volumes in Europe, Latin America, and in the US.

 

ROML 89-002: French Coastal Ecologies

FY Seminar | MWF, 11:15 AM – 12:05 PM | Instructor(s): Cécile Ruel

In this course, we will examine how French topography, in particular coastal topography, has had an impact on French cultural production. A central feature of France, the coastline extends for 5834 kilometers and faces four marine basins, each with their distinctive coastal and offshore characteristics: the Southern edge of the North Sea, the English Chanel, The Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. I propose that we approach the French coast using various lenses: mapping the coastline will be our first focus. From there, we will study selected historical events such as invasions and conquests, as well as contemporary migrations. This will lead us into examining how the coast is represented in French visual culture, mainly paintings and films, as well as in literature. A closer approach to the coast will allow us to discuss man’s impact on the coastal environment and how the French have led an environmental movement for the protection of the coastline and the sea. This will also enable to us to examine another important aspect of the French coast and sea: the sea as therapy. Using a variety of approaches (geographical, historical, artistic, literary, and environmental) will allow us to understand the central role the coast and the sea play in French culture and identity.

Cécile Ruel

Dr. Cécile Ruel is a Teaching Assistant Professor of French in the Romance Studies Department. Originally from France, she earned a B.A in English from the Université de Caen-Normandie. She went on to complete an M.A and a Ph.D. in French Modern Studies in the US. Her research interests are 20th-21st century French and Francophone literature, culture and thought, with special interests in travel narratives, film, visual studies, environmental studies and ecopoetics. She teaches intermediate to advanced level language courses, as well as literature and culture courses. She is the co-organizer of the ROMS Film Festival taking place every semester at UNC.

 

SOCI 71-001: The Pursuit of Happiness

FY Seminar | TTH, 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM | Instructor(s): Arne Kalleberg

Happiness is a fundamental goal in many societies, despite being elusive for many people. In recent years, social scientists have become increasingly interested in the subject of happiness and its causes and consequences. Sociologists, economists, political scientists, geographers, and psychologists have joined with philosophers in studying the nature of happiness and subjective well-being and its relationship to social life. This course will provide an overview of how these different disciplines study happiness. We will examine the interplay between individual and social happiness by considering the nature and meaning of happiness in the contemporary United States and in other countries. We will seek to answer questions such as: What is happiness? Can we measure happiness, and if so, how? Does happiness vary among diverse groups (racial, ethnic, religious, gender, age, and social class groups)? How does happiness differ among cultures and nations? What is the relationship between biology and happiness? Between psychology and happiness? Does money buy happiness? What is (and should be) the role of happiness in formulating public policies? We will address these and other questions by reading books and articles; by class discussions and debates; by viewing films; by interviewing people; and by collecting information using the Internet and other sources.

Arne Kalleberg

Dr. Arne Kalleberg is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has Adjunct Professorships in the Kenan-Flagler Business School, the Department of Public Policy, and the Curriculum in Global Studies. He received his BA from Brooklyn College and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published extensively on topics related to the sociology of work, organizations, occupations and industries, labor markets, and social stratification. He served as Secretary of the American Sociological Association from 2001-2004 and as its President in 2007-2008. He is currently the editor-in-chief of Social Forces, an International Journal of Social Research.

 

SOCI 89H-001: Gender Equity in STEM

FY Seminar | TTH, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM | Instructor(s): Lauren Valentino

Although women now attend and graduate from college at a higher rate than men, they remain underrepresented in STEM majors and careers in the US. This course explores the causes and consequences of why women – and other gender minority individuals – are less likely to pursue education and careers in the STEM fields. To do so, we will draw on sociological insights from the study of gender, education, work and occupations, and science and technology studies. Throughout the course, students will engage with social science research as well as contemporary news articles, films, and podcasts on these topics. They will also have the opportunity to meet experts who actively work on promoting diversity in STEM as well as established women and other gender minority individuals who have pursued STEM careers. This course is open to students of all backgrounds, majors, and genders.

Lauren Valentino

Dr. Lauren Valentino is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Ohio State University, and a postdoctoral associate at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. She earned her PhD in Sociology from Duke University, a Masters degree in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Bachelors degree in Sociology and French Studies from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Her National Science Foundation-funded research has examined reasons for the gender gap in STEM at the undergraduate level, using longitudinal data from public school students in North Carolina. Based on this research, Dr. Valentino has co-founded an intervention program for local public school students in the Triangle that aims to connect undergraduate mentors to STEM-interested middle schoolers. She has earned a Certificate in College Teaching and is the recipient of a teaching award for excellence in undergraduate instruction. You can read more about Dr. Valentino, her latest research, and her teaching accolades at her website: www.laurenvalentino.org.

 

STOR 120-03F: Foundations of Statistics and Data Science

FY Launch | MWF, 11:15 AM – 12:05 PM | Instructor(s): Nicolas Fraiman Borrazas | Lab/Recitation: STOR 120-405

This course teaches critical concepts and skills in computer programming and statistical inference, in conjunction with hands-on analysis of real-world datasets, including economic data, document collections, geographical data, and social networks. It delves into social issues surrounding data analysis such as privacy and design.

Nicolas Fraiman Borrazas

 

WGST 67H-001: Sexuality and Salvation

FY Seminar | TTH, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM | Instructor(s): Sarah Bloesch

In Christianity and Islam, bodies populate the afterlife. What those bodies look like, how they act, what they feel, and who they engage with are subjects of contentious and long-standing debates. The various answers offered in these debates deeply affect Christian and Muslim responses to the body, sexuality, race, and gender in this life. This course examines how these two religious traditions’ diversity of histories and ideas construct theories of identity. In each tradition, we will look at attempts to dictate a wide variety of sexual norms and at the creativity followers have employed in interpreting such regulations. We examine the many ways that Muslims and Christians have used sexual practices, language, and images to enhance their devotion and pose questions about living out religion. This means analyzing how the afterlife affects earthly life, including family structures, health care debates, legal choices, questions of feminist agency, and imagery of war.

Sarah Bloesch

Sarah J. Bloesch (she/her) is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She teaches feminist and queer approaches to film, popular culture, and spirituality. Her research focuses on Christianity, gender, and race in the contemporary United States and how those aspects shape our understanding of sexuality, time, and relationships. She is the co-editor of the textbook Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion: An Introduction to Theories and Methods and loves spending time with her dog: a boxer mix, who is obviously the best puppy in the world.

 

Privacy Preferences
When you visit our website, it may store information through your browser from specific services, usually in form of cookies. Here you can change your privacy preferences. Please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our website and the services we offer.