Courses

This seminar considers the reception of Greek mythology over the ages, from classical antiquity to the present day, using the ancient practice and concept of “mythography,” literally “myth writing,” as a lens to study how Greek myths have entered the literary and artistic repertoire, whether collected and preserved in anthologies and compilations or creatively “rewritten” by poets and prose writers (or reimagined by visual artists).

A… Continue Reading – Mythographies: (Re)writing Greek Myths from Antiquity to the Present

The practice of slavery goes back deep into Antiquity and is still found in some regions today. Its most extensive practice took place from 1450-1850 in the Age of Mercantile Capitalism and its legacy continues down to the present day.  Colonial era slavery involved the translocation of millions of people and its enormity has been compared with the European invasion of the Americas and the European Holocaust. Its vast literature covers… Continue Reading – Historical Archaeology of Slavery

Ten years on from the so-called “transgender tipping point” that TIME magazine declared with its 2014 Laverne Cox cover issue, trans people have never been more visible than they are today. At the same time, especially for trans women of color, this onrush of visibility has coincided with a wave of vulnerability. As the editors of Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility point out, despite, or… Continue Reading – Transgender Subjects and the Paradox of Visual Representation

In a world fraught with uncertainty, how do we make the best decisions with what we know now (and what we don't)? This course examines how we make decisions under uncertainty by integrating research from psychology, cognitive science, and behavioral economics. Students will explore how people make decisions with incomplete data and how these processes differ from models of “optimal” decision-making. Key topics include risk and uncertainty,… Continue Reading – Deciding in the Dark: The Science of Uncertainty

Writing Environmental Catastrophes will be an experimental methodological and writing workshop meant to teach students the art of environmental storytelling while critically enhancing their writing and communication skills through environmental storytelling and the environmental humanities. In our writing of environmental catastrophes, we will open up the environmental humanities fascination with environmental disaster, post-humanism,… Continue Reading – Writing Environmental Catastrophes: Black and Indigenous Critical Approaches to Environmental Humanities

This interdisciplinary honors seminar, co-taught by faculty from Rutgers University and the American University in Egypt, delves into emerging instructional practices and the global digital divide, focusing on how the uneven distribution of information and communication technologies impacts education.

Through cross-cultural collaboration, students will analyze case studies and research from Egypt and the U.S., understanding the global… Continue Reading – Bridging Educational Gaps: Technology, AI, and Global Equity

In the spring of 2024, surgeons in Massachusetts and New York transplanted the kidneys of genetically mutated pigs into patients whose organs were failing. This newest leap in xenotransplant brings hope for those chained to dialysis machines. Dialysis, now ubiquitous, was once a treatment only available to a few patients whose lives were in the hands of a “God committee” tasked with deciding who received the lifesaving… Continue Reading – From Frankenstein to Unwind: Medical innovation and the intersections of medicine, science, literature, and history

This seminar aims to teach a broad range of skills whose application spans a wide variety of disciplines, in an unusual and arresting way: through various sorts of puzzles. Students will also learn some of the little-known history of puzzles and their relationship to education. The students will be presented with various conundrums and be given guidance as needed to think through how to solve the seemingly unsolvable (hence learning to think… Continue Reading – Thinking Through Puzzles

This seminar discusses the emerging field of climate intervention, focusing on the scientific, ethical, and societal implications of different strategies of climate intervention. As climate change intensifies, scientists are exploring ways to mitigate its effects, and climate intervention or geoengineering is the most discussed one. This course invites students to critically engage with these methods to understand… Continue Reading – Climate Intervention: Where Science Meets Ethic

Is freedom a cultural specific concept? Are there many freedoms? What is the cost of freedom? Why is unfreedom sometimes acceptable or even, attractive? With unfreedom on the rise once again in our 21st century, whether through algorithms, surveillance, or neo-fascism, how do we achieve freedom in our day? What kinds of freedom are possible? These are the kinds of meditations I would like to explore in an Honors seminar… Continue Reading – What is Freedom? A Cross-Cultural Investigation for our Times

This course explores two main ideas regarding evolution and religion: (1) Cognitive byproduct theories: Our minds are predisposed toward certain kinds of religious ideas. These predispositions exist due to evolutionary forces experienced by our ancestors, but the results are not necessarily adaptive. (2) Adaptationist theories: Religious phenomenon may be adaptive either for individuals, groups, societal strata, or, through processes of… Continue Reading – Evolution, Cognition, and Belief