Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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KHC AH 101: (MIS)REPRESENTING HISTORY IN ART
An examination of the ways that historical events have been depicted by artists from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the intentional misrepresentation of events ("fake news") to serve the needs of the artists' patrons, usually ruling elites. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness. -
KHC AH 103: Experimental Art
This seminar investigates how visual and performance artists have wildly expanded our definition of what art is, including an exploration of new techniques, theories, markets, and political implications of art in the 20th and 21st centuries. How Does Art Happen' Who Is Art For' How Do You Make Art History' We will consider artists that challenged viewers' and philosophers' ideas about what makes something a work of art. These experimental artworks brought new people into the story of art history, expanding our understanding of who can be an artist (all of us). Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC AM 101: Whose Schools: Power, Equality and Public Education
How can we fulfill Thomas Jefferson's promise for public schools "which shall reach every description of our citizens'" The course examines significant eras, debates, and struggles for equality in U.S. education, with a particular focus on current policies in Boston. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy. -
KHC AN 102: The Lives of Others: The Power, Politics, and Ethics of Storytelling
This course delves into the ethical and political dimensions of storytelling, explores various cultural and historical forms of storytelling, and examines the deployment of storytelling in applied contexts such as narrative medicine. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
KHC AN 103: Animals among Humans
This course, "Animals among Humans," complements a hitherto existing course, KHC AN 101, Human among Animals." Comparing and contrasting humans and (other) animals, It explores the relations between them, with emphasis on the experiences of the nonhuman animals themselves. [The other course, Humans among Animals, also explores human-animal comparisons, contrasts, and interactions, but it does so with emphasis on the experiences of the humans involved.] Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking. -
KHC AN 104: Wildlife Conservation
Through team-based approaches, students learn about threats to wildlife and natural habitats, identifying community-based root causes. They apply their own disciplinary expertise and passions to develop creative solutions to these problems, culminating in the production of a final conservation video. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC AN 105: Conflict: The Human Condition
What can we learn about the human condition when we think through conflict' Unlike premodern forms of political authority and social organization, modern sociopolitical forms sanction specific forms of adversarial interaction as positive, regulative forces while banning forms of conflict as unwanted, corrosive influences on sociopolitical order. Students will engage with a rich array of multidisciplinary writings on human conflict as well as theatrical, literary, and cinematic takes on the primacy of adversarial relations for understanding the human condition. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. -
KHC AN 106: Scientists in Society
Understanding the nature of science and the role of the scientist in society is critically important in an increasingly technologically driven and interconnected world. Through an examination of the work of 5 impactful scientists and their interactions with prevailing institutions and societal norms, we will explore the fundamental nature of science and how individual scientists have navigated unique challenges created by their work. We will examine the work and controversies that surrounded: Galileo Galilei and Church authorities in the 1600¿s Alan Turing and the British Government post WWII Percy Lavon Julian and higher education in the US in the 1900¿s Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier and the battles over credit and patent rights for CRISPR-9 technology Antony Fauci and his leadership role in the nation¿s public health during COVID-19 Through a combination of assigned readings, lectures and interactive classroom discussions, students will explore the scientific achievements of each person(s) and then explore their broader circumstances and interactions with society. Using this knowledge students will consider and reflect on the nature of scientific contributions and important societal institutions and norms. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Critical Thinking, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Scientific Inquiry I. -
KHC BI 104: Conflict and Cooperation
What binds human and non-human societies together, and what pulls them apart, over the short (historical) and long (evolutionary) terms' This course draws on approaches from the natural and social sciences to address this question. Students will study the biology of social behavior and the puzzle of how cooperation can evolve even though most animals are selfish; employ game theory to predict when individuals, groups, and nations should cooperate and when they should not; and apply insights from sociology and psychology to contemporary social issues including partisanship and environmentalism. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Social Inquiry I. -
KHC BI 105: The Dynamics of Society in Nature
In this course we explore the dynamic relationship between human society and the natural ecosystems in which they are embedded, and of which they are today an integral part. This is the science of sustainability. We cover the theory, the gathering of empirical data from peoples and ecosystems, and types of dynamic modeling and scenario-forecasting, both heuristic and computational, that aid in good decision making. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy, Scientific Inquiry I. -
KHC CH 140: The Material World
Discussion of how matter (gas, liquid, solid) is cycled within the earth's systems in the context of human use of the earth's resources and contemporary concerns about sustainability e.g. ozone layer, rare-earth elements, hydrocarbon combustion, potable water, plastic recycling. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. -
KHC EC 103: Housing Policy: An Economic Perspective
This course introduces students to economic analysis through the study of housing policy. The course covers both microeconomic issues related to housing affordability and macroeconomic issues related to the stabilization of the housing market and the Great Recession. Throughout, the course will teach students economic principles and how use data to assess economic arguments. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy. -
KHC EK 104: Appreciation of music in a STEM context
This course leverages the relationship that students, who are not averse to STEM fields, have with music in order to turn them into GEEKS! It uses the electric guitar as a gateway to musical acoustics, electroacoustics, psychoacoustics and hands-on projects. No formal music training is required; the only prerequisites are the ability to appreciate music in some vaguely defined sense, and to try understand this appreciation with precise terms. The course will be supported by field trips, demos and projects. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Quantitative Reasoning II, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC EN 102: Ancient and Modern Quarrels: Fiction and Philosophy Since 1900
The "ancient quarrel" between literature and philosophy. Ancient works by Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle; existentialist writing by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, De Beauvoir, Ellison; contemporaries such as Sontag, Robinson, Coetzee. What good is art and narrative' What are their powers, limits, dangers' Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. -
KHC EN 103: Poetry as Activism
Do artists have a responsibility to bear witness to their times' This course explores the work of contemporary poets who directly engage the current moment, who show us that art can function as political action. Among the controversial topics that these authors draw attention to and comment on are racial injustice, mass incarceration, war, LGBTQ rights, immigration policy, and environmental devastation. Through our course texts and students' own poems, we will consider the ethics of appropriation and representation, as well as the use of personal experience and found documents in poetry. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC EN 104: Writing Lives: The Craft and Forms of Literary Biography
Literary writers craft characters. Many were characters as well–in their own lifetime and after their deaths. In this course, we explore the character of the writer as portrayed in multiple genres including fiction, essay, biography, autobiography, obituaries, and docudramas. We ask how does our perception of an artist change over time? How might literary biography serve as a lens to discuss changing conceptions of creativity, trends in historiography, and the development of literary canons? Our case studies will focus on 20th-century American writers (including Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes, and Adrienne Rich, among others) whose lives and work have been important to American education and social movements. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Research and Information Literacy, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC EN 105: The Romance Novel
Romance novels have been scorned, adored, and most of all, widely read. This course examines the history, artistry, and social significance of the genre, with attention to the ways in which romance novels have variously reinforced and disrupted norms of r not only on the world’s problems but also on the world’s pleasures? Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy. -
KHC FT 102: UnAmerican Cinema
This course seeks to understand American film history in light of one set of events: the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings on communism in the film industry and the resulting industry blacklist. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy. -
KHC FT 103: Screenwriting: Doing Justice Through Adaptation
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - This course will analyze the responsibilities of adapting socially significant source material for the screen. The lessons from case studies will assist students in their effort to identify impactful source material, research related topics, and develop a screenplay adaptation. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation. -
KHC HC 301: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Global Challenges I
In this course, students will develop an understanding of global public health from interdisciplinary perspectives. Specifically, the course will foster students¿ ability to critically consider key contemporary issues in global public health with a lens on ethical considerations, and in turn make links to policy and practice implications. Students will take on a range of issues that go well beyond the study of public health itself, raising questions such as those around identity, childhood, mental health, historical legacies of colonialism, and contemporary inequalities. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
