Big Ideas Course Series

Is it possible to predict the spread of the flu based on patterns in Google searches? Did Shakespeare really write that sonnet?

Scientists use patterns in language to answer these questions, using the same concepts that underlie such everyday applications as search engines, automatic translators, speech recognition, spell-checkers, and auto-correction tools. This course will examine some of these applications, focusing on the technological and linguistic ideas behind them and gaining practical hands-on experience and insight into how they work.

No programming experience is required; students only need curiosity about language and some everyday experience with computers.

Is it a US-led world order in a post-Trump era – or who’s in charge?

Is democracy still the best system – or is there a better system to replace it?

Can globalization withstand the challenge of populism and automation?

Are liberal values in decline amid rising hate?

In our time, norms in geopolitics, politics, economies, and society are constantly being challenged, and will continue to be - yet we may never reach a consensus on any of these questions. This course will address these issues, as well as the effect of the pandemic and the climate crisis on this global legitimacy crisis.

Students will discuss the key arguments in breakout rooms and in their weekly homework. They will also consider what innovative state and non-state strategies might ease the global legitimacy crisis in a final policy project on how to tackle a specific global risk. By the end of the course, students will have a more enlightened understanding of global affairs and how the 2020s could – or should – evolve.

Beginning with the meaning of justice, this timely course will introduce students to the magnitude, complexities, and solutions to miscarriages of justice within our criminal system and beyond. Students will distinguish both narrow and broad injustices and compare and contrast the costs, human and financial, associated with these miscarriages while integrating plausible solutions within political, cultural, and legal frameworks.

In this engaging and experiential online course, students will be exposed to multiple viewpoints and sources through readings, documentaries, lectures, guest speakers, and discussions, and be required to evaluate and synthesize these perspectives. Short assignments and discussion posts will be combined with analytical writings that synthesize learning about the causes and solutions to miscarriages of justice.

This course is appropriate for all levels.

In this course, students will learn how technology impacts the development and changes the experiences of children and young adults. Students will respond critically and explore the relationship between children, young adults, and the environment they navigate, as well as the relationship between social media and development in relation to advancing technology. Additionally, students will explore ethical theory in relation to society and innovation.

Through readings, discussions, and presentations, students will develop analyzed solutions for problems experienced via interactions with technology and social media. In this online learning collaborative course, students will create evidence-based solutions to solving society’s predicament with the evolution of social media.