At the Crossroads of Theory and Practice
Featured Course

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The BU Cross-College Challenge (XCC) is the Hub’s signature interdisciplinary project-based, 4-credit elective course open to juniors and seniors from all of BU’s undergraduate schools and colleges. The XCC engages students in team projects that address a real-world problem or an enduring human question. Students who are especially passionate about a particular subject matter and prepared to be active participants in a rigorous team-based experience are highly recommended to register early as seats are limited.
Each section is co-led by two faculty members from different disciplines. Student teams work with their faculty as well as with a variety of campus and community partners on a substantial, research-based challenge while building their knowledge and skills in 4 key Hub areas.

All of the XCC courses satisfy the Intellectual Toolkit Hub units in Creativity/Innovation, Research and Information Literacy, and Teamwork/Collaboration. The fourth Hub unit addresses Communication in written, oral, and digital forms, and varies by course number.
Note: These courses are not repeatable for credit.
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Spring 2023 Sections and Projects
HUB XC 420 A1

Kimberly Shuckra (CAS) and Willie Rodriguez (WED)
Unheard Voices: Deconstructing The Dominant Narratives By Inclusion
Given the racial injustice and the current pandemic challenges society faces today, it is imperative that higher education institutions create equitable spaces and opportunities to include the voices and experiences of marginalized communities that feel secondary and peripheral in a dominant discourse. Little attention has been paid over the years to exploring the lived experiences and expressed viewpoints of other ethnic communities. The feeling of invisibility and watered-downed identities are delegitimized further by the absence of presence and cultural compartmentalization by race and color, in a society that prides itself ironically enough, as one that values equity
and democratic principles.
Our project is to create a series of podcasts that share knowledge and thoughts from communities that often feel marginalized and invisible in the national equity and democratic discourse. To bring together some of the unheard voices and intersectional groups (E.g. Asian, Latinx, LGBTQ and Deaf cultures) to talk about their experiences and how they feel about equity and democracy and how it impacts their daily lives and experiences. Under faculty supervision students will develop, facilitate and host a series of conversations that cover several topics on equity and democracy. Working with our Community Partner, Wheelock EDI Committee, we will focus on bringing in speakers inside and outside of Boston University (including students) to share their experiences and perspectives and hold a series of conversations with experts and constituencies representing communities who are concerned about their exclusion in this dominant narrative.
Through these podcasts, students will continue to help Boston University cultivate an environment that fosters critical dialogue, social inquiry and ethical reasoning where communities feel respected, included and legitimized. More importantly, by sharing the knowledge and experiences of those often marginalized communities, students can work at solutions that will provide a more effective legitimization of these voices into the conversations and narratives that are currently absent in our national discourse in American society.
T 3:30PM-6:15PM
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*HUB XC 433 C1
Janine Bempechat (Wheelock) and Ashley Davis (SSW)

Photography for Youth Activism
How can marginalized youth come to see themselves as catalysts of social change? In this course, we will learn and practice the process of photovoice — an accessible activism tool that uses photographs and narratives to illustrate the unique perspective of individuals within a community — and then teach the process to youth at 826 Boston, a nonprofit youth writing and publishing organization located in Roxbury. We will work alongside youth to create a photovoice project that will be displayed at BU and 826 Boston, with an emphasis on photovoice as a tool to empower marginalized youth to pursue social justice in their own communities.
R 3:30-6:15PM
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*HUB XC 433 D1
Salvatore Genovese (CGS) and Nathan Phillips (CAS)

Bike to BU
By 2050 it is estimated 68% of the global human population will live in cities as compared to 55% today. This growing urban population will increase road congestion resulting in increased commute times and greenhouse gas emissions. However, a 20% increase in cycling worldwide could instead cut carbon dioxide emissions from urban passenger transport by nearly 11% by 2050. Cyclists also enjoy benefits to their mental and physical health in comparison to commuting in passenger vehicles. In much simpler terms, cycling can be a simply joyful method of transport. In this first iteration of this course, students will engage in projects focused on increasing awareness and expanding opportunities to incorporate bicycling into the commute of various segments of the BU community.
M 2:30PM-5:15PM
*HUB XC 433 B1

Seth Blumenthal (CAS) and Jonathan Hibbard(Questrom)
Marketing and Social Equity in the Cannabis Industry
This project intends to have teams work with the leadership of cannabis industry organizations in Massachusetts as they seek to promote entrepreneurial interests among social equity applicants. Teams will design and develop marketing plans, materials, and other wrap around services, for approved applicants. As part of this course, XCC student teams will conduct market research, develop strategies, and offer creative solutions around what those clients can do to generate awareness and market for those new businesses.
F 11:15-2:00PM
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*HUB XC 433 A1

Felice Amato(CFA) and Suzanne Sarfaty (MED)
Thinking through Puppets and Performing Objects: Using Theatrical Tools to Communicate the Complex, the Abstract, and the Technical
Puppetry and other forms of object performance are experiencing a renaissance in the US and across the globe. But what can they offer a research university, where not only creating but also communicating new knowledge to a range of audiences is increasingly important? These “animated objects” have traditionally been used to convey narrative content; can they help research to become a compelling story that engages, informs, and even entertains an audience–by activating their intellect and affect? In this course, students from across BU’s many colleges will explore how a broad range of puppetry techniques can help them to investigate and then communicate abstract theories, philosophies, and complex processes, injecting them with humor, suspense, and awe. Through visual storytelling, metaphors, materiality, and the handmade, participants will research the function and power of animate objects as tools of arts research. They will engage in analyzing ideas, making and performing, reflecting and giving feedback. The final products will be two puppet slams (a collection of short, experimental works), one based on the students’ own research in small groups, and the other in collaboration with BU doctoral students, who are client partners for this project. Other stakeholders are the office of the Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs at BU and the Puppet Showplace Theater, which in hosting the second event is lending its brand along with providing its venue.
F 11:15AM-2:00PM
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HUB XC 410 B1

Brooke Willams (COM) and Osama Alshaykh (ENG)
Spark! Justice Media Computational Journalism Co-Lab
Investigative journalism is an interdisciplinary endeavor. The Justice Media Computational Journalism Co-Lab will provide students from diverse disciplines an opportunity to work with and publish investigations in professional news outlets including GBH, the Boston Globe, CBS Boston, NBC Boston, the Associated Press, the Baystate Banner, and more. The investigative journalism news stories will be focused on issues of justice and accountability and have both written and visual components. This course will bring together students from journalism, computer science and other disciplines guided by veteran faculty practitioners in journalism and computer science/ engineering. Teams are encouraged and given the support to publish their written news stories, as well as any radio, television or visual media. Since publishing in one semester is not always possible, projects are graded on progress toward a publishable written data-driven, investigative story with visual elements.
**Permission and application required for this XCC section.
F 11:15AM-2:00PM
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HUB XC 475 A1

James Grady (CFA) and Ziba Cranmer (BU Spark!)
Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship
The Spark! Innovation Fellowship program supports student innovators passionate about solving problems through technology. The course provides a structured process where students advance a technology project of their own creation, or an innovative solution for a problem sponsored by an external partner. The goal is to design, develop, and deploy a working prototype in one semester with the support of industry mentors. Students can participate as part of a pre-formed team or they can be assigned to a team. There are two participant tracks for each team: developers and designers. Effective Summer 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Creativity/Innovation, Research and Information Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.
**Permission and application required for this XCC section.
Skill-based prerequisites:
Proficiency in any major programming language (Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, C, etc.). Prior Software Engineering project experience (through classes, internships, hackathons, or personal projects) preferred but not required.
Competency in any of the following: knowledge of graphic design principles and proficiency in design software programs e.g. Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma, etc.
M 2:30PM-5:15PM
View past syllabus
HUB XC 410 A1 (NEW COURSE)

Langdon White (CS/CDS)
Spark! DS4G:Data + Justice in the Criminal Legal System
DS4G Practicum enables students to tackle real world data challenges related to a more equitable and just society. Students will work in teams on projects provided by a variety of partners from the public sector including government agencies, nonprofits and researchers. Projects will vary depending upon partner needs but will be focused on producing a technical artifact that may include researching and developing robust data pipelines to publish public data sets, creating interactive tools or applications, or completing data-focused research. All projects should address pressing societal challenges in the public sphere.
The focus of this course will be on issues of equity and accountability in different sectors of the criminal legal system: policing, courts, and prisons. Students will work on projects for long term Spark! partners like the ACLU, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, the Committee for Public Council Services (Public Defender), and more.
**Permission and application required for this XCC section.
M 6:30PM-9:15PM
*For these sections reserved seating will be in place for the first 2 weeks of registration.