Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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KHC RH 102: A Nation Riven: Turbulence and Transformation in 1960s America and Today
What can the social and political ferment of the Sixties teach us about the issues of the present day? Do the ideals of 1960s radicals still ring true? Why did the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965 lead to racial unrest rather than reconciliation, and how does this history resonate in the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter? Why did foundational American beliefs like Free Speech place idealists at odds with mainstream American society, and what lessons does the campus free speech movement of the 1960s have for student activists today? Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking. -
KHC RH 103: A Reexamination of Childhood through Children?s Literature and Community-Based Learning
How have authors of classic works of children's literature addressed the liminal space between childhood and adulthood? How might this study give us insight into our own experiences? By studying childhood at the intersection of children's literature and community-based learning, students will deepen their understanding of how individuals are shaped by the stories that define their childhood. The course traces the development of children's literature in Western culture from classic fairy tales to the development of the novel and short story to today's picture books. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking. -
KHC RH 104: The Pursuit of Happiness
What is happiness? Can we hope to achieve it and how should we pursue it? We will study how happiness has been understood by different cultures over time, and students will engage with diverse authors and genres from scripture, philosophy, and social science. Students will write three essays, and keep a reading journal. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. -
KHC RN 103: Islam in the Eyes of the West
An introduction to how and why Islam came to be viewed as a static, essentialized tradition opposed to the West. Covers Orientalist and neo- Orientalist debates about Islam and provides a historical survey of the texts, practices, and beliefs of the Islamic tradition, from the 7th century to the present, in the Middle East, South Asia, North Africa, and the U.S. through a study of the Quran, poetry, philosophy, and political treatises. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
KHC SM 102: Reforming the U.S. Health Care System
In this seminar, students explore the U.S. health care system and those of six other nations, analyzing policy challenges through team projects that evaluate evidence-based reform strategies, and take into account economic, social, political, managerial, ethical, legal, and regulatory factors. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy. -
KHC SO 101: Social Networks and Culture
This seminar will focus on the theories and applications of social network analysis to study culture. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I. -
KHC ST 111: Studio I
In Studio I, Kilachand students hone their writing, critical reading and thinking, and analytical skills. Students explore fundamental ethical, aesthetic, and social concerns posed by challenging texts and events. They compose their own writing, with attention to the modes and genres of expression, media, and evidence appropriate to the goals of the piece and its designated audience. Students revise their writing with significant individual attention in conferences with their instructors. Students register for one section of Studio I in fall semester of their first year. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: First-Year Writing Seminar. -
KHC ST 112: Studio II
In Studio 2, Kilachand students hone their writing, critical reading and thinking, and research skills. Students learn the fundamental techniques of academic research, develop their own research projects, and write and revise a research paper. This project is developed in stages throughout the semester with significant individual attention in conferences with Studio instructors. Students register for one section of Studio II in spring semester of their first year. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Writing: Research & Inquiry. -
KHC TH 102: Aesthetics and Dance: Form and Structure
This course looks at three major theories of art and applies them to dance. How do we view and perceive dance? The theories that provide us the most insight are the mimetic/representation, formal, and expression theories. While these theories have been in existence for centuries, we will use them to consider visual art, theater, and music, and then focus on dance. How is movement and gesture organized to tell a story, convey an idea and/or create an aesthetic experience? How do we make sense of this nonverbal form of communication and increase our appreciation for dance's power to engage? Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC UC 104: The Ethics of Food
Choices about what food to eat pervade our everyday lives. This course explores the ethics of such choices. We'll examine arguments for vegetarian and vegan diets, for eating organic, for eating local, and for restricting oneself to only humanely raised and slaughtered meat. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. -
KHC UC 105: Liberty, Fanaticism & Censorship
From Socrates's execution for speech that 'corrupted the youth' and Jesus's crucifixion for claims that threatened empire to today's debates about cancel culture, disinformation, and social media censorship, questions about free speech and its political, ethical, and religious consequences have been central to western history. This course examines some of the enduring issues animating these questions with an eye to their ongoing significance. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. -
KHC UC 106: Biomedical Enhancement and the Future of Human Nature
Biomedical technologies are increasingly being used to enhance the biological, cognitive, and psychological capacities of otherwise healthy human beings. Although the enhancement enterprise aims to increase levels of human wellbeing, it also raises a host of ethical concerns, such as worries that it will exacerbate inequality, undermine authenticity, devalue diversity, or even pose an existential threat to the human species. This course will survey the ethics of biomedical enhancements carried out through the administration of drugs, genetic modifications, and human-machine interfaces. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. -
KHC VA 104: More than a Face: What Masks Reveal
Other faces, frames, transformations and disguises, masks speak to what it is to be human among other humans, unifying the body and the psyche in ways few objects do. Participants study the complexity of masks as a cross- disciplinary nexus. Effective Spring 2021 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC XL 101: Global Shakespeares: Text, Culture, Appropriation
Why do contemporary writers parrot and parody "Shakespeare," and how much of this activity is about Shakespeare at all? This seminar provides an introduction to reading and writing about Shakespeare's plays. But it also takes a step back to consider Shakespeare as a phenomenon. Among others we'll look at feminist Shakespeare, postcolonial and nationalist Shakespeare, and sci-fi Shakespeare. Beyond learning about particular offshoots and adaptations, the deeper point is to make sure you never read a "Great Book" the same way again. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC XL 103: Problems in Propaganda and Persuasion
How does propaganda move people to action by appealing not to reason but to emotions? Theories and material from Germany, Russia, Poland, Italy, China, Japan, USA, the Middle East; totalitarian ruler-cult & mobilization for war; propagandistic use of media technologies. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
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