Courses

Fictions of Identity

Deborah Forbes: Section 001 - TR 12pm-1:15pm

A central feature of human culture is telling stories that aren’t true. Why do we create fiction, and how does this work relate to our understanding of ourselves and others? How do we judge authenticity in an imagined world? This course follows the development of realistic fiction in English from the origins of the novel in the early 1700s to the present day. We’ll pay particular attention to authors who write from the point of view of characters with an identity different from their own. What can they tell us about the line between representation and appropriation, empathy and exploitation? How have our moral preoccupations evolved over time? Together we will develop individual criteria for evaluating the boundary-crossing fiction involves. The coursework will emphasize critical analysis, but we will also undertake creative experiments to test the limits of our ability to imagine ourselves as someone else.

Hell on Earth: Dante's Inferno

Kristina M. Olson: Section 002 - MW 3pm-4:15pm

Referring to Dante's vision of hell, President John F. Kennedy repeatedly affirmed that "the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.” Recently, poets and journalists recall Dante's idea of "hell on earth" to describe the extremity of human suffering in this world. Such sayings indicate the impact of Dante's Inferno and its moral and spiritual questions about how to act upon free will within the human bonds of trust and love. Our discussions will incorporate knowledge from medieval history, philosophy, and theology, but we will not limit ourselves to Dante's times. Our overarching focus will be on interpretations and adaptations of the Inferno by artists, authors, politicians, and even video game designers of our times. We will study how the Inferno inspired later artistic works and popular cultural appropriations, and how to analyze this "afterlife" of his poem.

US Life & Identity in Poetry

Lori Rottenberg: Section 003 - MW 10:30am-11:45am

Think poetry is just something you have to learn to get through high school English, with no relevance to your life or today’s world? Buckle up and think again! In this class, we will be exploring visceral, accessible poetry that probes what it is to be an American, in so many of its numerous identities. We will discuss what makes poetry “poetry” and read and analyze important poets from the last 20 years, covering a broad range of styles and personal perspectives. We will review the terms we need for analyzing poetry and examine how each poet makes meaning through their choices on the page. We will also be giving YOU the chance to write and workshop your own original poetry! Our tentative reading list includes Natasha Trethewey, Khaled Mattawa, Ocean Vuong, Craig Santos Perez, Claudia Rankine, Ada Limón, Layli Long Soldier, Philip B. Williams, Brian Turner, and others. (Please note that as poetry often deals with sensitive issues involving race, gender, sexuality, class, war, oppression, history, environmental destruction, and personal trauma, these topics may be discussed in this class.) Get ready to talk, interact, share, create, and learn!

The Art of Memory

James Savage: Section 004 - TR 1:30pm-2:45pm

In Ancient Greece, a good memory was celebrated as both essential to any orator as well as a way of communicating with and memorializing the dead. What has become of the concept of memory since that time? What role does memory (both individual and collective) play in our lives today, particularly as we remember traumatic events and the loss of loved ones? And how do artists use memory to understand the past and heal from moments of loss and trauma? These questions will be examined in this course through various genres, including academic writing, fiction, creative nonfiction, live storytelling, film, and poetry. The semester will culminate in a Moth Story Slam that asks students to tell a story aloud from memory.

Truth and Justice in Sci-Fi

Carlos Chism: Section 005 - TR 10:30am-11:45am

 The far-flung futures and alternative presents of science fiction serve as playgrounds to better understand the world around us. Writers and readers of science fiction use the genre to explore diverse ideas and ask difficult questions about the myriad of issues which construct our world, such as: How do different ways of imagining the future help us understand our relationships to those who came before us in the past, and to each other in the present? How can the various settings and stories of science fiction help us see our own world in new lights? In this class, we will read novels, short stories, and screen TV episodes to analyze how various works both use and subvert conventions of the genre to construct piercing questions and probe for new answers.

Ruins of the Apocalypse

Benjamin Renne: Section DL1 -TR 12pm-1:15pm

The apocalypse is upon us! So what comes next? In this course we will examine the literature of ruin. Through close literary analysis, creative artistic response, and critical discussion of speculative fiction (SF), poetry, film, anime, music, and video games, we will explore the possible futures left to us in the wake of apocalypse. Readings and media will be selected from both contemporary and foundational voices in SF, and will represent a diverse range of genres and perspectives. The semester will culminate in an exercise in collaborative storytelling with a short campaign of the Apocalypse World tabletop role-playing game. With particular emphasis on survival, community, and resilience, we will encounter the various survivors of ruin: scavengers and shapeshifters, mutants and monsters, and the mythic remnants of the human past. Our exploration will be guided by the following key questions: What is useful or even necessary about imagining our future ruin? How can art and literature prepare us to survive apocalyptic scenarios of the present and future? How do our perspectives and cultural contexts shape our relationship to the end of the world? How can possibility, hope, justice, wonder, and even delight exist amid destruction?

Know Thyself: Insights from the Psychology of Self-Knowledge

Lauren Kuykendall: Section 001 - MW 12pm-1:15pm

This class explores the significance of self-knowledge for a fulfilling life and the possibilities for knowing ourselves better. We will consider various aspects of self-knowledge including self-awareness (awareness of our traits, strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots), self-insight (awareness of why we think, feel, and act the way we do), values clarity (awareness of our values and purpose), and narrative identity development (integrating our various identities and past experiences into a more coherent and meaningful sense of who we are). We will begin by considering why self-knowledge matters for our relationships, vocational aspirations, and overall well-being—and why it is so hard to cultivate. Then, we will spend the rest of the semester exploring and experimenting with psychological approaches for increasing self-knowledge, incorporating occasional readings from philosophy and other related fields. We will explore contemplative approaches that help us quiet our minds and pay better attention to our thoughts and feelings (e.g., mindfulness meditation), introspective approaches that help us reflect on our priorities and experiences (e.g., value reflection, expressive writing), instructive approaches that highlight common blind spots and strategies for reducing our vulnerability to them, and narrative approaches that help us make sense of our identities and past experiences. We will consider the ways our communities shape our sense of self and learn about the various ways other people can help us know ourselves better. Through practical experimentation with these strategies and reflective discussions with peers, this course will help us articulate personally meaningful reasons and strategies for pursuing self-knowledge.

Liberalism and its Critics

Ted Kinnaman: Section 002 - TR 1:30pm-2:45pm

American society is a liberal one that professes to value freedom above all else. But are human beings naturally suited for life in liberal democracy, or must we be taught how to be free? Are people equally suited to be citizens in a democracy? What is this freedom we value so much? We will consider these questions as they are addressed in philosophical works by Plato, Mill, Locke, and Rawls, as well as conservative, communitarian, and feminist critiques of liberalism.

Experiencing Difference

Lisa Sechrest-ehrhardt: Section 003 - MW 10:30am-11:45am

Diversity in the United States provides a rich, yet complicated environment regarding social interaction among people from various backgrounds. Different world perspectives affect behavior in social interactions and can have positive and or negative consequences. How can a person’s identity affect his or her interactions with others? Does it matter what neighborhood a person lives in? How might identity affect social communication? Students will be introduced to Social Interaction Theory and Cognitive Theory which provide a robust foundation for navigating diverse social interactions. Using inquiry and collaborative learning processes students will learn how these theories provide an understanding to what one “brings” to communications and exchanges with others. Students will examine identity traits that influence social interactions with others. Additionally, students will explore self-awareness as positive attribute to better understand self, others, and community.

Subcultures of Music

Shayna Maskell: Section 004 - MW 1:30pm-2:45pm

Subcultures have been understood as “imaginative representations” brought into being through narration and narrative – the stories that subculturists tell about themselves as well as those that others tell about them. In this class, we will map music-based subcultures through their most enduring narrative(s) – resistance and identity, both political and cultural, to mainstream values, norms, and practices. Considering subcultures through music, style, and practice, we will explore how subculturalists voice their opposition and their sense of self and community, considering the following questions: how do specific genres of musical act as conduits for the creation of subcultural identities? What role does context – place, space, and time – play in developing subcultural identities and forms of resistance? How does the creative practice and process of music work to inform ideas of self and resistance? In an attempt to answer these questions, we will trace a genealogy of musical subcultural resistance, considering a range of contemporary subcultural groups alongside their historical counterparts. 

Unity in Diversity: Exploring Identity, Intersectionality, and Community in America

Joshlyn Thomas: Section 005 - MW 1:30pm-2:45pm

Culture, customs, ancestry, and language are just a few of the myriad factors that shape an individual's identity. In this course, students will embark on an in-depth exploration of the multifaceted dimensions of self-identity, examining both inherent and ascribed attributes that constitute their essence. A central focus will be on intersectionality, understanding how overlapping social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination intersect to shape individual experiences. Through this journey, students will discover how these traits manifest within diverse communities. By the course's conclusion, students will have undertaken a comprehensive and purposeful exploration of their identities, enabling them to recognize and appreciate the shared commonalities among their peers.

Representing Salem's Witches

Samaine Lockwood: Section 006 - W 4:30pm-7:10pm

Over the course of the Salem Witch episode of 1692/93, which took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, approximately 185 people were accused of witchcraft and over three-quarters of them were women. By the close of this dark but foundational chapter in American history, twenty people had been executed and a number had died in prison. The Salem story foregrounds questions about the power of women and girls both as witches and as the potential victims of witches. Often an unmarried woman who lives on the margins of society, the witch is a cultural figure through whom ideas about identity—gender, sexuality, race, ability, class, labor, and religion—get articulated. In this course, we will examine the Salem Witch episode as it has been represented in imaginative literature from 1945 to the present day. We will begin our inquiry learning about how historians have understood what happened in Salem. Then we will seek to understand the changing ways that the Salem story has been represented in plays, poetry, novels, and other popular cultural forms in American literature. Students in this course will be required to produce both team and individual assignments.

Gender, Sexuality, and 1990s Culture

David Powers Corwin: Section 007 - TR 1:30pm-2:45pm

This section will focus on how the 1990s was a critical decade for issues related to gender and sexuality and intersecting identities. Coming off the heels of Apartheid in South Africa, The Reagan Administration, the Cold War, and many other international political events and in the midst of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, LGBTQ+ activism, and third wave feminist politics, the 90s served as a transition decade to move us into the twenty-first century. Through literature, television, film, music, historical and theoretical texts, this course will focus on issues related to women and LGBTQ+ people in light of the sociological and historical context of the decade and how representation is indeed a political act that shapes culture. 

Disability Studies: A Survey

Clara Gibson: Section 008 - MW 1:30pm-2:45pm

This course functions as a survey introduction to the field of disability studies. In the class, we will look at how disability is produced and understood socially, in a variety of contexts, including gender, race, sexuality, and class.

Disability, Health and Illness

Claudia Rector: Section DL1 - MW 9am-10:15am

This course considers how identity intersects with the body, specifically with disability, health and illness.  We will examine multiple models of disability and illness, look at the sources of the ideologies that created those models, and consider their consequences.  Some of the topics we will discuss—from multiple viewpoints—include eugenics, the medical model of disability, the social model of disability, chronic illness, Deaf culture, and mental health/illness. 

Identity in Video Games

Seth Hudson: Section DL2 - TR 12pm-1:15pm

This class explores the function of identity in video game culture(s). By engaging related scholarship, journalism, and games themselves, we will seek the intersections of player experiences with the evolving medium and communities that surround it. What do we play? How do we play? What do the answers to these questions say about us?
 

Markets and Morality

Virgil Storr: Section 001 - M 4:30pm-7:10pm

This seminar will explore key writings on the relationship between markets and morality. The course will, thus, also focus on a number of the critical debates that have occupied political economists and moral philosophers over the years about the moral underpinnings of market societies, the moral nature of market activities, and the moral status of market outcomes. The goal of the class is to prepare students to understand and engage in the contemporary debates around these issues.

Displacement, Smuggling, and Trafficking

Al Fuertes: Section 002 - M 4:30pm-7:10pm

 This course explores the dynamic interplay between displacement, smuggling, and trafficking of human populations. Students will examine how forced displacement of human communities due to war, armed conflict, natural disasters, and climate change make refugees, and internally displaced persons, including stateless individuals become prone to human smuggling, putting them at greater risk of being trafficked. Specific cases from around the world reflecting smuggled migrant movements, including various forms of human trafficking stemming from forced displacement will be studied and discussed. Students will also study the role of the international community: government and non-government entities, regional organizations, and central governments in addressing the problem, including what students can do to help address the problem. This course involves community-based experiential learning through the Centreville Immigration Forum (CIF) - Centreville Labor Resource Center (CLRC). Learning competencies highlighted in this course include Global Understanding, Critical and Reflective Thinking, Well-being, Communication (oral and written), Group Collaboration, and Civic Engagement.

Black and White: Creating and Challenging the American Caste System

Patty Masters: Section 003 - TR 10:30am-11:45am

In 1938, Gunnar Myrdal, a Swedish economist and sociologist was engaged by the Carnegie Foundation to document and study the social and economic inequities of Southern Black Americans. Myrdal’s book, The American Dilemma . and highlighted the discrepancy between the American ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality and the American realities of discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion. Myrdal’s study was the first attempt to describe the effects of racial discrimination on the everyday lives of Black Americans. Myrdal asserted that this unresolved problem was the greatest challenge that Americans faced in the 21st Century. Isabel Wilkinson’s 2020 groundbreaking book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents linked two terms, caste and race, providing a historical framework for understanding how categories of Black and White emerged from the founding of our nation with far-reaching effects today. The term “caste system” describes the embedded ranking of human value that asserts the presumed inferiority of groups based on ancestry and immutable traits, becoming the initial basis through which individuals are placed in a hierarchical order that creates conflict and division. The course looks at the experiences of individuals as they navigated the rigidly enforced restrictions of caste, the charismatic leaders who emerged to challenge the existing system, and efforts to come closer to meeting society’s ideals. Explored is the important question of how far we have come in resolving the contradictions Myrdal identified by examining the process of creating and sustaining caste.

Eliminating Global Hunger: Problems, Progress, and Challenges

Phillip Thomas: Section 004 - MW 12pm-1:15pm

Global hunger is one of the most critical problems confronting the global community in the 21st Century. Despite numerous efforts over the past 50 years its elimination remains elusive due to a complex array of environmental and human factors. The purpose of this course is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the causes and effects of global hunger and analyze threats to global food security including the climate crisis, environmental degradation, animal and plant diseases, access to clean water, food waste and loss, contaminated food, agricultural terrorism, and antimicrobial resistance. The current intensifying climate crisis, the Russian Invasion of the Ukraine, and the continuing COVID Pandemic have exacerbated the global food security crisis. This course will address food security, in terms of access to critical food supplies including major supply chain disruptions, and the nutritional impact on vulnerable food insecure populations at a global and national level. We will address food security related national and global health, economic, social, and ethical impacts of these disruptive forces. We will also examine strategies for protecting and enhancing the security of global food production and supply systems. In the final analysis, our goal is to gain insight into the interrelationship between food security and national security and develop an understanding of policies and programs necessary to achieve sustainable food security that is environmentally appropriate to ensure availability, access, utilization, and stability of adequate nutritious food for all people at all times.

Climate Change for Humans

Amy Tal Rose-Tejwani: Section 005 - MW 10:30am-11:45am and Section 006 - MW 12pm-1:15pm

This course will examine the effects of climate change on our everyday lives and develop strategies for coping with severe weather and health concerns from climate change through the mindset of “thinking globally and acting locally.” We will investigate topics such as environmental policy, sustainability, aerosols, radiation, spectroscopy, and satellite imagery from the perspectives of humanities, technology, engineering, and science. Students will learn strategies for critical multidisciplinary analysis of meteorological events, climatic trends, reducing their carbon footprints, and effective science communication. With respect to the earth systems of the biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, this course will focus on climate change in our atmosphere.

Responses to Climate Change

Richard Todd Stafford: Section 007 - TR 12pm-1:15pm

How are we responding to climate change? What responses are we planning? How might we respond in the future? Who is this "we" anyway? The answers to these questions are vital: climate change is reshaping patterns of migration, impacting human health, changing the availability and cost of necessities like water and food, increasing the frequency or severity of natural disasters, causing sea-level rise and coastal flooding, and more. These impacts are projected to intensify in the coming years. However, because many of the activities that contribute most to climate change are deeply interwoven with our cultures, political systems, and economies, action is complicated and fraught. In this reading and discussion-focused class, we will engage with some significant responses to climate change, learn how groups and institutions are mobilized to respond, and explore what causes inaction.

History of the Family

Spencer Crew: Section 001 - TR 10:30am-11:45am

The definition of family and the role of each member has evolved over the years. Often the changes are related to economic circumstances and the social beliefs of the society. This course will primarily examine the way the American family has changed since colonial days. In the process, we will study how the responsibilities of women, children, and men have evolved and why. In addition, we will learn how oral history can aid in researching family history.

American Roots Music

Suzanne Smith: Section 002 - TR 1:30pm-2:45pm

This course explores the roots of American popular music. American roots music encompasses a wide array of music styles including: blues, gospel, early jazz, country, bluegrass, Western swing, as well as immigrant music such as polka and zydeco. Throughout the semester, we study how these styles evolved, influenced each other, and laid the foundation of rock and roll. Another important dimension of the course is learning how the history of race relations, gender relations, and class in America play a key role in understanding why certain musical styles develop and become popular. Since music is the focal point of the course, weekly assignments include readings, listening to music, and screenings of films about American roots music

Slavery & Freedom in Virginia

Sheri Huerta: Section 003 - MW 10:30am-11:45am

What is freedom and how do we use the past to create a narrative of what American freedom means? This course tackles the complex questions of what freedoms like movement, residency, bodily control, and family meant in an era of enslavement (1619-1865); how the boundaries between freedom and enslavement were created, policed, negotiated, transgressed, and challenged; and how these stories impact our present understanding of American freedom(s). To do this, we will uncover stories of the people most often marginalized and silenced by history and follow their journeys across the Atlantic Ocean, into sites of enslavement, within legislative debates about freedom, along the Underground Railroad, and into local courthouses as they sought to make claims to freedom and define its meaning. We will discuss how stories of resistance and resilience during the era of enslavement have been represented in public history and then work towards social justice by designing a memorial in teams to amplify the marginalized or silenced voices of people who help us better understand the meanings of freedom and enslavement in Virginia.

Conspiracies, Urban Legends, and Moral Panics

Matthew Sedlar: Section 004 - TR 3pm-4:15pm

This course examines the social forces that fuel the spread of folklore through conspiracy theories, urban legends, and moral panics, analyzing their impact on groups and institutions. Students will examine the historical origins and context of these types of folklore and learn to evaluate evidence critically. Students will also investigate how media and social networks shape public perception and the social and political consequences of misinformation.

History of AI

Jan Allbeck: Section 005 - MW 9am-10:15am

In this course, we will explore the history of artificial intelligence and its impact. We will trace the evolution of key technologies and how they have changed the way that we live. We will also discuss potential future technologies and the impact that they might have on society. 

The Crusades

Samuel Collins: Section 006 - M 4:30pm-7:10pm

In the year 1096 more than 100,000 people--knights and peasants, men, women, and children, churchmen, prophets, and hangers-on--walked more than 2,000 miles from their homes in France and Germany and Italy and England to Jerusalem. Many of them had never left their villages before and yet felt inspired to make what they knew to be a dangerous journey and kill a people they had never met, and of whom they likely knew little. Thus begins what came to be known as the crusades, a persistent and essential phenomenon of medieval society thereafter. Many of these crusading expeditions went to Jerusalem but many went elsewhere too – to the Baltic Sea, to Spain, to Italy, to Southern France. They went to fight Muslims, Jews, polytheists, and even their fellow Christians. In this course we will explore different perspectives on the crusades and the crusading movement with the goal of coming to form as nuanced as possible a picture of what underlay these religious wars and why they unfolded as they did. Along the way we will consistently engage with questions of perspective in how one approaches the historical study of the crusades. At the end of this course students will be familiar with the main iterations of medieval theories of warfare, the development of the crusading ideal, the parallel development of the changing definition of jihad, the main chronology of crusading history, and how the history of the crusades in this period relates to wider developments in Europe and Asia. And, more importantly, students will have developed a familiarity with the main literary, documentary, and material sources for that history and will have begun to confront the difficulties of interpretation this complicated and fragmentary source-base presents.

Hungry for Change: Community Writing on Food Scarcity

Tawnya Azar: Section 001 - TR 9am-10:15am

This course will examine the issue of food scarcity facing different communities inside the U.S. and the role that collaborative, community-based writing has had and might have in addressing this issue. As part of the course, students will volunteer at one of several local/regional/national organizations whose mission is to address food scarcity for different communities. Additionally, we will develop an awareness campaign to engage with the Mason campus community about this issue. Through these acts of community engagement and advocacy, we will explore what it means to write with, for, and about the issue of food scarcity and the communities most affected as well as what role community-engaged writing should have in tackling issues like this.

Peer Mentorship in Honors

Nadeen Makhlouf: Section 002 - F 10:30am-1:10pm

Peer Mentorship in Honors is a service-based course designed to train Honors College Peer Mentors (PMs). PMs support the Honors College community by mentoring first-semester students enrolled in HNRS 110: Principles of Research and Inquiry or HNRS 302: Research and Inquiry for Transfers. Beyond mentorship, PMs help foster a sense of community and engage in ongoing discussions about the role of service, support, engagement, and collaborative learning within the Honors College curriculum. Students in this course must be available to attend one section of HNRS 110 or 302, as well as HNRS 111 and HNRS 260, to fulfill their mentorship responsibilities. Mentors are assigned to an HNRS 110 or 302 section based on their availability in their Fall course schedule and will receive their placement details in August. Students who successfully complete this section of HNRS 260 are eligible to enroll in HNRS 360: Peer Leadership in Honors in Spring or Fall 2026.

Honors College Connects

Melanie Fedri: Section 003 - MW 1:30pm-2:45pm

In Honors College Connects, students contribute to the work of local nonprofits addressing health, social justice, environmental, and other challenges. Students work in multi-disciplinary teams and are mentored by student alums of the program. Through Honors College Connects, students build professional skills while making a real impact in the community beyond Mason. Over the past 14 years, 450 Honors College students have contributed to the work of 95 nonprofits. In addition, for those looking for leadership opportunities, Honors College Connects runs on a strong student leadership model, with paid student officers and mentors, along with a volunteer Partner and Alumni Council.

Global Dialogues

Jennifer Ashley: Section 004 - TR 3pm-4:15pm

In today’s world, the ability to engage in meaningful, respectful conversations across differences is more important than ever. This course offers students an immersive exploration of dialogue as a transformative tool for understanding and connection. Students will have the opportunity to examine case studies from around the world of dialogue efforts in moments of conflict, as well as to engage in conversations with peers from other countries about pressing international issues. Inspired by dialogue training initiatives in Norway (such as Dembra and the Nansen Center), this course teaches the principles of deep listening, openness, and respectful inquiry. Rather than debating or defending positions, students will learn to ask thoughtful questions and facilitate conversations where all participate on equal terms. The course also emphasizes the role of dialogue within the United States, inviting students to reflect on the challenges of engaging in a polarized society. Through hands-on practice, students will practice skills needed to facilitate dialogues on campus and beyond.

Public Participation in Environmental Governance

Julie Minde: Section 005 - T 7:20pm-10pm

This course introduces the topic of how members of the public take part in activities associated with government implementation of environmental policy, regulation, and management. Important questions include, but are not limited to: When, how and why do citizens participate in activities related to government management of natural resources, stewardship of the environment, planning and preparation for environmental disasters, and environmental risk assessment? What are the dynamics between governments and their publics, and how do these dynamics shape environmental governance processes and outcomes? Are there more effective, efficient, and fair ways to engage citizens and communities in environmental governance? Such questions are becoming more critical in a world marked by uncertainty and rapid environmental change as well as political fluctuation. We will investigate these and related questions through activities such as: literature review, case study analysis, role-playing and simulation, and model development.

Science in the News

Thomas Wood: Section 006 - R 4:30pm-7:10pm

In this course you will discover, examine and discuss current trends in science important to society. In a complex, information-saturated society, this can prove challenging. We will investigate ways to navigate the information superhighway to promote curiosity, ethical responsibility and personal growth leading to life-long learning. You will learn how to evaluate the reported science to become an informed consumer. You will develop a foundation in some areas of science you may previously have been wary of studying. The purpose of this course is to pique your intellectual curiosity about scientific topics that are of personal interest. We emphasize interdisciplinary problem-solving through critical, analytical, and integrative approaches to studying scientific issues and trends facing the contemporary world. To achieve these goals, we will create a classroom learning community structure that resembles a non-government organization to use scientific advancements to improve society, the human condition, and the integrity of the natural world. You will establish improved habits of inquiry that will serve you well as an educated participant of our society.

Business & Politics of Health

Nader Silver: Section 007 - W 7:20pm-10pm

Why are over 70% of products at the grocery store ultraprocessed? What impact does industry funding have on research? How do politics and corporate sector decisions impact our health? This course focuses on the intersection of corporate power, politics, and health policy to understand the sometimes hidden forces that shape health. A main objective of our course is to understand how private sector decisions relate to the environments in which we live, work, and grow, and what effect that has on health outcomes. The course will also review how politics, laws, and regulations influence the social determinants of health. We will consider the impacts of corporate policymaking, marketing, and lobbying on consumer behaviors. We will discuss how industry relates to scientific research by considering what questions get asked, how outcomes are measured, how data is interpreted, and what finally gets published. We will also look at the healthcare sector, and the sometimes competing interests of profit and patient care. The course will focus primarily on the food industry, but will also pull case studies related to tobacco, alcohol, and fossil fuels.

Civic Engagement and Religious Values

Rabbi Bruce Aft: Section 008 - T 4:30pm-7:10pm

This course will look at what civic engagement means in today's world and will be highlighted by a hands-on approach to finding places where we can make a difference. Students in this course will engage in finding meaningful places to contribute to the improvement of our world. We will go out into the field to try to work in areas that are meaningful to us and will keep the dream alive. We are living in unprecedented times and there are so many people who are in need of caring and compassion. This class will give us the opportunity to make a difference. In Jewish tradition and in a number of other religions, we are taught that if one saves one life, one saves an entire world. There are worlds waiting for us and our creativity and energy to heal them. Register for this class and be a difference maker!

Social Justice Philanthropy

Valentino Bryant: Section 009 - TR 3:00 pm- 4:15pm

Philanthropy – “giving away money” – sounds attractive and straightforward. The serious philanthropist must think and work strategically —building a deep understanding of the specific social issues of interest and community context and dynamics, identifying the highest potential leverage points and relevant resources, building relationships with a range of stakeholders, and negotiating the intersections between donor interests and community need, balancing innovation and experience, understanding legal issues, creating a robust investment strategy with clear goals and aligned actions, considering long-term exit strategies, designing and implementing impact evaluations, assessing potential partner organizations and plans, and monitoring and supporting grantee organizations. This course will engage students in the conceptual frameworks and research regarding philanthropy, social change, organizational dynamics, and concrete practice in designing and implementing a philanthropic strategy.

AI and Human Values

Dean Taciuch: Section 001 - TR 10:30am-11:45am and Section 002 - TR 12pm-1:15pm

The quest for artificial intelligence has led to many types of “narrow AI,” most of which are better than humans at their specific skills (from playing games to predicting the structure of a protein). But the goal for much AI research is Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. A narrow AI can drive a car, for example, but it can’t play chess, or answer a trivia question. An AGI could. Much of the in AI scholarship has been on the risks of AI development: misaligned values, ethical dilemmas, economic concerns. But the rewards are immense: longer, healthier lives, more stable governments, more equitable societies, a cleaner environment, and the exploration of our universe. This course will explore current and future ethical questions of AI development, including questions of human values and identity.

Development of Modern Science

James Trefil: Section 003 - M 4:30pm-7:10pm

The course covers the development of science from the earliest times to 1900. It covers Egyptian, Greek, Islamic, and European scientific developments. No previous scientific knowledge is required. The course emphasizes group research projects and communication skills. This course has an irregular meeting pattern—some sessions are scheduled in person and some are synchronous online. Students are expected to participate in both modalities. Exams and presentations are conducted in-person, as designated in the course syllabus. Please see Patriot Web for the exact class meeting schedule.

Multimedia Storytelling

Brenna Maloney: Section 004 - TR 10:30am-11:45am

Students examine and practice methods for reporting nonfiction stories using a combination of text, images, sound, video and graphics. The course highlights a multimedia approach to journalism, yet the content is appropriate for non-journalism students who wish to expand their multimedia storytelling knowledge.

Global Social Thought

Lester Kurtz: Section 006 - TR 1:30pm-2:45pm

Global Social Thought investigates alternatives to classical Western social theory, exploring classical and contemporary Nonwestern, non-white scholarship. It is a decolonizing effort to remedy the deep racism of our knowledge, which is so dominated by the Euro-American experience and intellectual traditions, to the neglect of other significant streams of social theory over the millennia and across the globe, with a focus on South Asian, East Asian, African, Islamic, and Indigenous American thought. Participants gain “epistemic advantage,” that is, they expand their knowledge based beyond dominant western thought by reading scholarship and classical works from the global South, non-white, non-Western authors. Relying on diverse knowledge sources helps us to create new ways of thinking and alternative solutions to contemporary social problems.

Honors College Consults

Melanie Fedri: Section 007 - MW 3pm-4:15pm

Students in this course will work in multidisciplinary teams to design a solution to a challenge or problem offered by two of Mason’s partners from the Northern Virginia business community. Students will be supported in this project by a faculty instructor and a mentor from the participating partner. They will have opportunities to synthesize the knowledge and practices they have developed over the course of their undergraduate experience, to develop the skills and strategies necessary for working effectively in multidisciplinary teams, and to apply all of this as they work to solve a problem or challenge in a professional environment. Work on the project will culminate with the public presentation of the team’s proposed solution, as well as a final report to be delivered to the participating business partner. [Note: in the past, this course has been titled "Industry & Professional Challenges"]

George Mason University's History in the Archives

Maoria Kirker: Section 008 - MW 3pm-4:15pm

This course will explore the history of George Mason University using the University Libraries’ Archives. We will learn how archives work, what knowledge we can learn from archival records, and critique what is missing from the archival record. In teams, you’ll uncover an aspect of the university’s history using the archives and create a publicly accessible digital exhibit. This is a product for the University Libraries, and so you may even choose to explore a project related to creating and maintaining a stable platform for the work produced in this class, e.g. a wiki site or Omeka. This class is for any student interested in working with primary sources, learning more about the University and its community, or building workflows for a new technology project. 

Community Engagement and Disaster Recovery

Tennille Parker: Section 009 - MW 9am-10:15am

 This course introduces how civic engagement is cultivated and critical to helping communities recover from natural disasters. The course examines the intersection of civic engagement and government policy development and implementation of recovery strategies. Important questions include, but are not limited to: When, how and why do citizens participate in the planning and preparation for natural disasters, how the culture of engagement or lack thereof, shape governance processes and outcomes? Are there more effective, equitable, and efficient ways to engage citizens and communities in long term recovery? The class will investigate these questions through activities such as: literature review, case study analysis, role-playing and simulation, and toolkit development.

Conversation, Communication, and Connection

Aimee Weinstein: Section 010 - TR 10:30am-11:45am 

In the mid-nineties, researchers and writers such as Sherry Turkle and Nicholas Carr had high hopes for the ability of the internet. They believed technology would foster connection and bring people together. Instead, later publications by technologists, psychologists and others, lamented the lost art of conversation, lack of communication between people and broken connections, all blamed on the social tools that were meant to do just the opposite. In this class, via a myriad of reading, we will explore those expectations, what actually happened, the ways people connect and converse – or not! – currently, and where we go from here. Students will collaborate on the research and production of a relevant podcast series as well as several smaller group projects.

Lead Mentorship in Honors

John Woolsey: Section 012 - F 10:30am-1:10pm

This section of HNRS 361 is a project- and service-based learning practicum. Students work on collaborative projects aimed at creating a wider sense of belonging, engagement and inclusion for Honors College students. Students serve as Peer Mentors to HNRS 110 students, fostering a positive sense of community and facilitating the ongoing process of articulating what “mentorship,” “service,” “civic engagement” and “collaborative learning” mean in the context of the Honors College curriculum. Approval required for registration: please contact Dr. Woolsey.

The Cultural Politics of Trauma and PTSD

Claudia Rector: Section DL1 - TR 9am-10:15am and Section DL2 - MW 10:30am-11:45am

Mental disorder has always been a phenomenon subject to politics and rhetoric, as changing ideas of normalcy and deviance prove. In this course, we will examine the conceptual frameworks and rhetoric around the diagnosis, treatment, and experience of mental disorder in the U.S., specifically the politics of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), stress and trauma, and their differentiation from other forms of mental disorder. We will examine the history of the diagnostic category of PTSD, including the conceptual frameworks and rhetoric that shaped its evolution. We will consider how the individual experience of trauma is related to the individual’s relationship with the community, and consider what that might imply for both the ways that individuals are helped and the ways that the community regards their experiences. We will examine—from multiple viewpoints—case studies where trauma and PTSD are experienced and in some cases reproduced, including war, religious sects, and other inexplicable acts of violence (i.e. school shootings). 

Honoring Our Community Seminar

Jasmyne Rogers: Section 001 - W 4:30pm-5:45pm

A seminar for students participating in the Honoring Our Community Fellowship. Through this seminar, students will learn from others with a range of experiences, perspectives, and identities and then apply that learning to community engagement/activism. Students will become familiar with interpersonal communication skills and campus resources that will enable them to effectively engage the community they choose to serve. Enrollment only with acceptance into the Honoring Our Community Fellowship (Link: https://honorscollege.gmu.edu/honoring-our-community)

Identity and Community through Documentary Practices

Caroline West: Summer Session C - MTWR 10:30-12:35

How do documentary media practices respond to and shape our knowledge and ideas on identity, difference, and community? In this class, we will examine this question, thinking about the special expectations we have for documentary work: to tell us the truth. We’ll approach how individual and intersecting identities and communities are narrated in documentary media through essential questions about authenticity, representation, voice, authorship, and form. We will explore the documentary work in its historical and social contexts. The five-week summer session will be thematically organized with readings and short writings primarily on photographic projects and in-class viewings of documentary films. There will be a field trip to the American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery in DC. Students will collaborate in small groups on a creative final project and presentation.

Peer Mentorship in Honors

Nadeen Makhlouf: Section C - TWR 9:30am-12:30pm

Do you like working with others, supporting your community, and getting course credit while doing so? Are you interested in further building your communication, organization, and leadership skills? Then consider enrolling in HNRS 260: Peer Mentorship in Honors this summer. HNRS 260 students will engage with high school students and soon to be first-generation college students enrolled in the Early Identification Program and train to be Honors College Peer Mentors. In addition to fostering a positive sense of community, students will explore definitions of “mentorship,” “service,” “civic engagement” and “collaborative learning” in the context of higher education. Students who complete HNRS 260 this summer are eligible to enroll in HNRS 360: Lead Mentorship in Honors for Fall 2025.

Contact Dr. Makhlouf for permission to enroll.

Lead Mentorship in Honors

Nadeen Makhlouf: Section C - TWR 9:30am-12:30pm

Do you like working with others, supporting your community, and getting course credit while doing so? Have you already completed HNRS 260? Then you should consider enrolling in HNRS 360: Lead Mentorship in Honors this summer. HNRS 360 students will work alongside to practice their leadership skills, engage with high school students enrolled in the Early Identification Program and train to be Honors College Peer Mentors. In addition to fostering a positive sense of community, students will explore definitions of “mentorship,” “service,” “civic engagement” and “collaborative learning” in the context of higher education. Students who complete HNRS 360 this summer are eligible to apply to be Lead Mentors for Fall 2025. This section is especially recommended for students who have previously taken the Peer Mentorship in Honors or College Application Coaches sections of HNRS 260.
Contact Dr. Makhlouf for permission to enroll.