Social Sciences   

What is “the West,” and why has it worked so well? This course explores Greek logic, Roman law, and Judeo-Christian principles as the foundation of Western civilization. We’ll ask: Are these ideas still important? Do they need active stewardship, or can they thrive on autopilot? If you’ve grown up in the West but want a deeper understanding of its roots and relevance, join us for a thoughtful, engaging exploration.

The Republic of Indonesia, a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ring of Fire is composed of more than 17,000 islands of great beauty, diversity, ancient cultures, and political turmoil. It has experienced numerous disasters, many of epic proportions, and is highly vulnerable to climate change. Gender roles and relations in three major disasters shed light on the factors that influenced preparation, recovery, and resilience, yielding lessons for all of us.

The Republic of Indonesia, a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ring of Fire is composed of more than 17,000 islands of great beauty, diversity, ancient cultures, and political turmoil. It has experienced numerous disasters, many of epic proportions, and is highly vulnerable to climate change. Gender roles and relations in three major disasters shed light on the factors that influenced preparation, recovery, and resilience, yielding lessons for all of us.

Family violence of all forms, all ages, and all aspects has always existed in the United States. It is usually kept a secret within family members until some action leads to that secret becoming known. Once revealed, it can be treated and often stopped with a variety of interventions. This course is an overview that will look at types of abuse and neglect, treatments, and prevention strategies to build healthy futures for family members.

Rapidly developing artificial intelligence might be a savior for news media organizations battered by audience and advertising losses to the internet and social media. Or AI might make everything worse. Can chat bots replace reporters? Can AI-generated images replace the work of photographers? How can readers and viewers know what's created by AI? Journalists are wrestling with these questions and more right now. This course will look at how AI is already being used in journalism, the ethics of using it, what's coming, and how news consumers will have to be ready and wary.

Rapidly developing artificial intelligence might be a savior for news media organizations battered by audience and advertising losses to the internet and social media. Or AI might make everything worse. Can chat bots replace reporters? Can AI-generated images replace the work of photographers? How can readers and viewers know what's created by AI? Journalists are wrestling with these questions and more right now. This course will look at how AI is already being used in journalism, the ethics of using it, what's coming, and how news consumers will have to be ready and wary.

This film is a vivid and accurate reconstruction of a debating class at the small, historically black, Wiley College in Texas. Professor Melvin B. Tolson attempts to put his students on an equal footing with the white colleges in the 1930s of Jim Crow laws and lynch mobs. By turns viscerally disturbing and enormously uplifting, this true story shows what life back then was like and what a brilliant and tenacious teacher can do to make change happen. It gives courage and hope to us for today.