Fall 2021 XCC Course Offerings: The mission of the Semester Ahead

For its fourth consecutive year, XCC is continuing to weld together faculty and students from all 10 BU undergraduate colleges for interdisciplinary learning. XCC Fall 2021 truly offers something for every student – whether it be public policy, social equity, climate change, Cannabis, music and film, or technology. Students and professors alike focus their skills and talents to pioneer thought-provoking solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges. 

Fall 2021 course offerings will be geared towards one or more of these priority areas: 

• Data Sciences
• Public Health
• Racial Equity and Social Justice
• Sustainability and Climate Change. 

In addition to each course fulfilling HUB Requirements, XCC offers students a chance to pursue interests outside of their current program while being able to collaborate with students and other faculty across BU.  

Starting its second semester, Justice Media Computational Journalism Co-Lab (HUB XC 410 A1)  is a unique course, where computer science meets journalism. This course promotes a novel type of storytelling that views data through the lens of social justice and racial equity. Students will find that this course opens the door to publications in national news outlets like CBS, The Boston Globe and NPR. 

Maintaining the focus on the social-racial injustices, Marketing and Social Equityin the Cannabis Industry (HUB XC 433 D1) aims to strategize inclusive and equitable marketing in the rising cannabis industry. Students conduct market research to diversify awareness to underrepresented groups with a goal of building their own businesses within the industry.

The cornerstone of Tools for Social Change (HUB XC 433 A1) is tackling issues of racial, environmental, and social injustice with political tools while equipping students with a deep understanding of today’s compelling problems and the political means by which to provide useful solutions. 

With the selection of courses, students of all backgrounds will have a coveted chance to venture off of Commonwealth Ave and explore Boston as a social scientist or even environmentalist with a perspective on sustainability, climate change and public health. For the environmental scientists, Zero Waste: The Five R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (Hub XC 433 C1) is focused on helping BU achieve its goal to be Zero Waste by 2030. Zero Waste’s students will dive into the issues of sustainability directly on campus by collaborating on solutions to support BU’s conservation efforts dealing with minimizing food waste in BU’s dining halls and repurposing packaging; overall leaving a smaller footprint on the planet. 

Analyzing societal footprints with a historical lens is the framework for the class: City Stories: Boston +1 (HBU XC 420 A1). Students will be immersed in exploration as they seek the meaning and significance of places, buildings, landscapes, and objects in terms of Boston’s past, present, and future. This course is taught weaves together all aspects of XCC’s priority areas for Fall 2021.  

Here a list of  XCC Fall 2021 Sections and Projects: 

• Justice Media Computational Journalism Co-Lab – HUB XC 410 A1
• City Stories: Boston + One-  HUB XC 420 A1 
• Tools for Social Change – HUB XC 433 A1 
• Assessing and Improving Urban Tree Canopies – HUB XC 433 B1 
• Zero Waste: The Five R’s: Reducing Consumption – HUB XC 433 C1
• Marketing and Social Equity in the Cannabis Industry – HUB XC 433 D1
• Art and Resistance: Social Justice Through Global Music and Film – HUB XC 433 E1
• Spark! Innovation Fellowship – HUB XC 475 A1

This article was written by Rachael Kelley, BU journalism graduate student and a  graduate assistant with XCC.