Fall 2021 Kilachand First-Year Seminars

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, such as “fake news”, to serve the needs of the artists’ patrons, usually ruling elites.

BU Hub Areas: Historical Consciousness, Aesthetic Exploration

Based partly on ancient questions and long-debated ideas, and partly on new observations, experiments, and experiences of humans with animals at home, in institutions like zoos and parks, and in the “wild,” this course examines ways animals seem to experience humans, and ways they interact when under human influence.

Bu Hub Areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking

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.

BU Hub Areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Quantitative Reasoning II, Creativity & Innovation 

Prerequisites: High school calculus and physics

Examines social, economic, political, religious, and gender issues urban youth in the Middle East face in the 21st century given the escalation of violence and the stark economic inequalities impinging upon them, but also the many new opportunities available.

BU Hub Areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking

Using an interdisciplinary approach, this course will examine various important, impactful, and, in some ways, underappreciated espionage activities and terrorist events that germinated, received support, or otherwise occurred in the Boston metropolitan area.

BU Hub Areas: Ethical Reasoning, Oral/Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.

Randomness is ubiquitous in our lives, from attending an outdoor concert when there is a 40% chance of rain to understanding the role of chance in income inequality. The purpose of this course is to introduce concepts and methods that will foster an understanding of chance and to provide the tools to draw informed conclusions from incomplete information.

BU Hub Areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking

“Energy powers the world.” This seminar explores that pithy statement, beginning with basic concepts and definitions. Students examine the history of human uses of energy, how energy arises in different realms (physical, chemical, biological), the primary sources of energy, how to transmit and store energy, and the politics of energy, seeking to answer the ultimate question: “What should be the path forward to a sustainable, environmentally sound, equitable energy future?” Students will demonstrate their understanding through problem sets/short essays, a mid-term exam, and a final project.

BU Hub Areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking

Prerequisites: Familiarity with high-school algebra is recommended, as is experience with any combination of high-school physics, chemistry, and/or biology. Previous college-level course knowledge is not required and is not expected.

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?

BU Hub Areas: Historical Consciousness, Individual in Community, Critical Thinking

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.

BU Hub Areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Critical Thinking

Comparative approach to sacred space in world religions, examining pilgrimage, shrine architecture, literary and artistic representations, living saints, and violent incidents

BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thikning

Does a free community require shared values? Must those values be sustained by a communal religious outlook–and if so, which one? How can rival religious and secular claims about the foundations of political authority be reconciled in a free community? If diverse religious views are permitted in a free society, how is a regime of mutual toleration to be established and how is religious liberty to be defined? What are some of the arguments for and against freedom of speech and inquiry? Is the cause of civic virtue, unity, peace, and liberty better served by a sort of free market of religious and moral views than by state-enforced doctrine? In effect, we will reflect on the meaning of “E pluribus unum” in the context of a free and cohesive society.

BU Hub Areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking

This course will survey the ethics of biomedical enhancements carried out through the administration of drugs, genetic modifications, and human-machine interfaces.

BU Hub Areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking