Fall 2025 Course Offerings

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

• Some Interdisciplinary courses also meet additional Gen Ed requirements.
• For students who enrolled at Carolina before Fall 2025, you may use an Interdisciplinary course to fulfill the FY-TRIPLE requirement.

There are a variety of courses you can take to meet the Interdisciplinary requirement:

IDST 113I-001: The Idea of Race
MW, 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM | Instructors: Daniel Matute, Dave Pier, Michael Terry | Recitation: IDST 113I, sections 601-606
Course Description This course, taught by a biologist, a linguist, and an ethnomusicologist, focuses on the idea of “race.” Historically, the idea that humans can be divided into distinct races has been a singularly pernicious one, having been used to justify the persecution, enslavement, and extermination of groups based on their presumed biological inferiority. Today, scientists agree that race is a false and distorting concept for understanding biological diversity among humans: what we describe as races are in fact social constructs, not genetic realities. Nonetheless, the idea of biological race persists in the popular imagination. In this course, students learn why race is not a viable human biological concept, how the idea of race arose historically (and continues to be maintained), and what alternative concepts exist for understanding human diversity and change over time. Instructor Bios Daniel Matute Dave Pier Dave Pier specializes in music, art, literature, and cultural politics in Africa and the African diaspora. His book, Ugandan Music in the Marketing Era, is an ethnographic study of folklore performance, corporate arts sponsorship, branding, and grassroots entrepreneurialism in contemporary Uganda. Currently, he is researching kadongo kamu, a Ugandan guitar-based pop music genre. He is also writing about the development of modern/contemporary dance in this country. Pier serves on the editorial board for the journal African Arts, as well as on the advisory board for UNC’s Process Series. He teaches Introduction to Africa, Music of Africa, Music of African Diasporas, Politics of Cultural Production in Africa, and a freshman seminar on Afrofuturism. As a jazz pianist, he has performed and recorded with Clark Terry, Jane Monheit, Roswell Rudd, Marcus Belgrave, and other jazz luminaries. Michael Terry Michael Terry is an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics and adjunct associate professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He researches the structure of dialects and the implications of dialectal differences for linguistic theory and educational practice.

 

IDST 130I-001: The Future of Food
MW, 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM | Instructors: Caela O’Connell, Eliza Rose, John Bruno | Recitation: IDST 130I, sections 601-606
Course Description You’ve probably been offered almond milk, but have you heard of potato milk? It’s coming. The ways we make, eat, and think about food are constantly changing. What will food look like a decade or century from now? This course combines perspectives from science fiction, anthropology, public policy, and marine ecology to address related questions: How has our love of and need for food influenced our social and political structures, trade and conflict among cultures, and exploration of our planet? How does food affect our relationships and shape our sense of who we are? How do policy choices shape the food we eat? How can we feed 8 billion humans without sacrificing the environment? How might technology and innovation shape our future food? This class will probably make you really hungry, and it might even change how you think about the food you eat. Instructor Bios Caela O’Connell Caela O’Connell is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program. She got hooked on researching farmers and the environment in particular while studying Spanish at the Universidad de Habana in Cuba. Dr. O’Connell runs the Socio-Ecological Change Research Lab (SECR Lab) at UNC investigating different aspects of sustainability, agriculture, inequality, water, disasters, adaptation, crisis and environmental conservation and partnering with community organizations for engaged scholarship. Her work is primarily in the Caribbean and North and South America. When not thinking about the future for farming and our global environment, Dr. O'Connel enjoys cooking, baking for friends, hiking (nothing too steep), taekwondo, tracking hurricanes, and traveling with her family. 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. Her research uses art, film, and science fiction to explore how the future was imagined in socialist Eastern Europe during the twentieth century. She is an alumna of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop, and her science fiction stories have been published in English, Polish, and French. The great paradox of her life is that she constantly thinks about outer space but would never want to travel there. John Bruno John Bruno is a marine ecologist and Professor in the Department of Biology. His research is focused on marine biodiversity and macroecology, coral reef ecology and conservation, and the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. He earned his Ph.D. from Brown University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University in disease ecology. His lab group primarily works in the Galápagos and the Caribbean – including Belize, the Bahamas, and Cuba. He is also a science communicator and co-developer of the oceans website SeaMonster.

 

IDST 132I-001: Science for Hyperpartisan Times
MW, 3:35 PM – 4:25 PM | Instructors: Christian Lundberg, Jeffrey Warren, Matthew Springer | Recitation: IDST 132I, sections 601-606
Course Description This course aims to help students navigate the messy intersection of science, policy, and politics by teaching how the substance, history, presentation, interpretation of science – as well as education about science – influence our understandings of the world. Students will: 1) analyze public discourse, education, and debate about science, 2) consider how philosophies, knowledge, data, and interpretations are created, delivered, and received, and 3) discuss how these factors – alongside partisan politics and bias from both sides of the aisle – influence science policy outcomes. Instructor Bios Christian Lundberg Chris Lundberg is a professor of rhetoric, a political consultant, and a corporate communications strategist. He is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at UNC Chapel Hill, where he writes about and teaches courses in public speaking, debate, persuasive communication and political rhetoric. His academic work includes multiple books and award-winning articles on rhetoric, speech, and persuasion, including: The Essential Guide to Rhetoric (Bedford St. Martin’s, 2008, 2e 2017); Public Speaking: Choices and Responsibility (Cengage Publishers, 2014, 2e 2016, 3e 2022); and a book about the psychology of public persuasion called Lacan in Public: Psychoanalysis and the Science of Rhetoric (University of Alabama Press, 2012). He has served as a debate and messaging consultant for numerous US Senate races, gubernatorial campaigns, and cabinet-level confirmation processes. His international work features extensive work in the United Kingdom, including work on the UK Prime Ministership, the Scottish leadership election, and consulting services for the “Vote Leave” campaign during the EU referendum. He is also the founder and CEO of Vocable Communications, a speech focused and data-driven communication consultancy serving senior leadership at multiple fortune 500 corporations. He received his Ph.D. in rhetoric from Northwestern University’s School of Communication in 2006, and his Master of Divinity from Emory University in 2000. In addition to his experience in the classroom and with consulting clients, he has over fifteen years of experience in speech and debate coaching, serving most recently as a coach and argument consultant for Harvard University. He has coached national championship intercollegiate debate teams at four separate universities (Liberty University, Emory University, Northwestern University, and Harvard University), and has coached multiple competitors to the top individual speaker award at the National Debate Tournament. Jeffrey Warren Formally trained as a marine geologist, Jeff Warren has spent the past 17 and a half years in State-level science policy positions including the coastal hazards policy specialist for the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (2004 to 2010), the science advisor for the North Carolina Senate (2011 to 2017) and, most recently, the research director and now executive director for the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory headquartered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2017 to present). Warren earned his BSc in geological sciences from the University of Arizona (1994), his MSc in geology from Auburn University (1997), and his PhD in geological sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2006). Warren’s academic research included field sites in the southeastern US, northern Mexico, the East and South China Seas, and Antarctica for which he received the Antarctica Service medal of the United States of America from the National Science Foundation. In addition to his primary duties at UNC Chapel Hill with the Collaboratory, Warren has also been appointed a Professor of Practice in the Department of Public Policy. Matthew Springer Matthew G. Springer is an interdisciplinary policy scholar by training and studies educational innovations and policies for improving system effectiveness and access to educational opportunities. Matt consults widely with government agencies and international organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Government Accountability Office, the National Governor’s Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the United Kingdom and Mexico governments, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He has taught courses on the history and current trends in higher education, educator policy, education finance, research methods and causal inference, policy analysis, reading and writing academic research, and public policymaking. Matt’s research has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN’s Top of the Hour, National Public Radio, and The New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a managing partner at Basis Policy Research, an applied research and technical assistance firm with offices in Denver, Co, Grand Rapids, MI, and Hillsborough, NC. Before joining Basis, Matt was the Hussman Distinguished Professor of Education Reform at UNC and an education and public policy faculty member at Vanderbilt University.

 

IDST 136I-001: Relational Leadership
TTH, 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM | Instructors: Meg Zomorodi, Ryan Nilsen, Sofia Aliaga | Recitation: IDST 136I, sections 601-606
Course Description This course is designed to expose to students to the principles of relational leadership– a human-centered approach to working better together that prioritizes the quality of our relationships as a driving force that increases collaboration, equity, and impact across health systems and communities. Students will apply the relational leadership framework to develop tangible skills for advancing teamwork, communication, collaborative decision making, psychological safety, and trust. Students will have interactions with multiple leaders in healthcare, nonprofit, and academic spaces, building a network of community while also focusing on their individual growth in leadership. Instructor Bios Meg Zomorodi Meg Zomorodi is a Professor in the School of Nursing and Associate Provost for Interprofessional Health Initiatives. In her role in the Provost office, she oversees the Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice and the Office of Health Professions Advising. Meg has a passion for teaching, especially across disciplines and teaches courses and guest lectures in a variety of courses across campus. A double Tar Heel—Meg has both graduate and undergraduate degrees from UNC Chapel Hill and believes that the best way to lead is to form connections and establish relationships. In her current role, she builds opportunities for collaboration across health professions, engages with rural communities to support workforce needs, and works with different groups to build infrastructure for change. She likes to build stuff---and loves puzzles and problem solving. Meg is excited to teach this course as it is a way to share the Relational Leadership framework with students and to help empower the change agents of the future. Ryan Nilsen Ryan is the Deputy Director of Interprofessional Health Initiatives in the Office of the Provost and an adjunct instructor teaching through the Department of Public Policy and the School of Education. He graduated from North Carolina State University with a double major in English and international studies and a minor in mathematics and completed a Master of Theological Studies degree at Duke University with a focus on experiential education and community development. He also completed a graduate certificate in nonprofit leadership through the UNC School of Social Work. Prior to his current role, Ryan led undergraduate and graduate service-learning and community engagement programs at the Carolina Center for Public Service. Sofia Aliaga Sofia Aliaga is a Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine, Director of Interprofessional Education and Practice for the School of Medicine, Director of the School of Medicine Simulation, Experiential Learning and Training Center, and associate program director for the pediatric residency. Sofia is committed to advancing simulation to support interprofessional education in health care. Sofia completed her medical school training in Lima, Peru and is bilingual in Spanish and English. She completed her pediatric residency training at the University of Colorado and The Children’s Hospital of Colorado. She has been a Tar Heel since moving to the area for her neonatology subspecialty training in 2007. During that time, she also completed a Master of Public Health degree. Sofia is looking forward to teaching this course and continuing to grow the Relational Leadership community.

 

IDST 137I-001: Live Arts Laboratory
MF, 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM | Instructors: Irina Kruchinina, Rachel Hynes | Recitation: IDST 137I, sections 601-606
Course Description If life is a performance, who is writing the script? Combining the conceptual approach of Performance Studies and the vocal and physical exploration of Theatre we explore life as performance. With the natural world as our stage, class functions as a laboratory where students generate original work using creative writing, interdisciplinary practices and site-specific exploration. Move from following the script you’ve been given to writing your own. Instructor Bios Irina Kruchinina Irina Kruchinina, born and raised in Moscow, Russia, is an interdisciplinary performance artist and scholar exploring poetry as intermedia between various modes of human expressions. She holds a PhD degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Georgia. Currently a teaching assistant professor at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, she produces collaborative work in live performance, installation arts and contemporary dance. Rachel Hynes Rachel Hynes is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Dramatic Arts at UNC, Chapel Hill with an expertise in innovative new works and ensemble creation. Her teaching approach balances rigor, mindfulness and play. Rachel writes, directs and devises physical, experimental and interactive performances as well as sitespecific and interactive work (Art All Night DC and Supernova Performance Art Festival) Her devised adaptation of Euripides’ The Trojan Women was a part of Washington DC’s Women’s Voices Festival and her clown show about menstrual stigma, LadyM, received its world premiere with The Welders, Washington DC’s premiere playwrights collective. From 2006-2011, Rachel was the Co-Artistic Director of Avant Garde performance group, Helsinki Syndrome, performing in On the Boards’ Northwest New Works Festival, the Henry Art Gallery, Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Annex Theatre (Seattle), Hand2Mouth’s Risk/Reward Series (Portland), Camden People’s Theatre SPRINT Festival (London) and had two residencies at Richard Forman’s Ontological-Hysteric Incubator (NYC). Rachel is a Master Teaching Artist and has directed and taught with the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Montgomery College, Arena Stage’s Voices of Now, Fords Theatre’s National Oratory Fellows Program, Encore Stage and Studio, and Educational Theatre Company (ETC). Most recently, she was the head of Limestone University’s Theatre Program, focusing on remodeled classics and new works, underpinned by personal and entrepreneurial development. Rachel is a seven-time Artist Fellow with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, has received multiple project grants from the DCCAH and was the recipient of an Aurand Harris Theatre Grant from the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America. She is a winner of the Larry Neal Award for Dramatic Writing, and was a Producing Playwright with the second cohort of Washington DC’s premier playwriting collective, The Welders. Rachel earned her MFA in Lecoq Based Actor Created Theatre from Naropa University at the London International School for the Arts (LISPA). She is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild and Network of Ensemble Theaters.