Humanities and Social Sciences
Ethics in the Modern World
9-12th graders | Session A | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
“You shouldn’t do that!”; “Why?”; “Well, because it’s wrong!”
Anytime you have decided that you or someone else should or shouldn’t do something because it is right, wrong, good or bad, you are doing ethics. Ethics asks questions about right or wrong, good or bad and what values should guide how we live. Are these values pleasure, friendship, happiness, achievement, knowledge, justice, or something else? If all of these should guide how we live, are some more important than others? Does it depend on the situation? Also, how does ethics relate to and influence the ideas in society and popular culture? Things like social media, movies/TV, the government, and education all involve discussions of right or wrong, good or bad, and values. This course explores how philosophical reflection, and argumentation can inform and change how we live as well as help us decide how we should live. The aim of this class is to help students understand these topics and questions and develop their own thoughtful answers.
Instructor: Ashley Labodda, Department of Philosophy
Dreaming New Realities: Interactive Storytelling with Extended Reality (XR)
9-12th graders | Session A | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Bring your ideas to life with XR (the umbrella term for augmented, mixed, and virtual reality)! Students will start with XR basics, including their history and application. They will use design thinking, storytelling, world building, and low-fidelity prototyping to brainstorm and design a virtual reality mini-game or digital story. They will then learn the basics of XR tools, such as Blender, a 3D modeling tool, and Unity, a real-time creation platform, through hands-on workshops to develop their own unique virtual reality experience. Students will also engage in critical discussion of XR, including topics on privacy, accessibility, and empathy. All learning levels welcome. No experience necessary. Just bring your creativity and big ideas!
Instructor: Meaghan Moody and Digital Scholarship Staff, Studio X.
Language and Advertising
9-12th graders | Session A | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This course examines how advertisers use language to sell products and how it affects our perception of the products and ourselves. This course will appeal to those who are curious about the central role language plays in the art of persuasion. The course touches upon the structure of language only insofar as it is relevant for understanding advertising as a form of social action. The acquired linguistic tools will help us to understand how commercial messages achieve their effect in business, culture, or even grass roots movements.
Instructor: Solveiga Armoskaite, professor, Writing, Speaking, and Argument
Introduction to Visual and Media Studies
9-12th graders | Session A | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This course will introduce students to the fields of visual and media studies. We will examine a variety of media including painting, photography, film, television, video, and social media. We will define and compare these media to one another, asking how each has impacted ways of visually perceiving, understanding, and relating to the world across the 20th and early 21st century. Example of questions we will address are: why do photographs look and feel more real to us than paintings? What does it mean for television to present us news updates in real time? Is social media good or bad, and how has it shaped contemporary society? Students will practice critically applying course readings to the study of visual objects, through writing prompts as well as group discussions. The course will include a fieldtrip to the George Eastman Museum.
Instructor: TBD Department of Art and Art History-Visual and Cultural Studies
Environmental Science: Uncovering the Connection between Environment and Health
9-12th graders | Session B | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Explore the dynamic relationship between our environment and health in this engaging one-week workshop. From the basics of epidemiology and toxicology to pressing issues like water quality, air pollution, and climate change, we’ll delve into the critical factors shaping our well-being. Through lectures, interactive discussions, and hands-on activities, you’ll gain insights into how these elements intertwine, and develop innovative approaches to safeguarding our planet and ourselves. Join us on this transformative journey towards a healthier, more sustainable future!
Instructors: Faculty, Environmental Medicine
Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare
9-12th graders | Session B | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Ethical and moral dilemmas in the healthcare field impact everyone, including patients, family members, clinicians, communities and the population. Many of these complex issues arise at the bedside, but others occur as a result of social and economic difficulties. It is here that the application of bioethics can provide a framework for understanding these issues. In this course, students will engage in case discussions, participate in mock ethics committees, and explore current events in order apply these theories and principles of bioethics to real life situations. Such topics include the patient-clinician relationship, end-of-life care, organ transplantation and donation, and public health.
Instructor: Nicholas R. Mercado, DrPH, MCHES, HEC-C, assistant professor, Department of Health Humanities & Bioethics
Introduction to Journalism
9-12th graders | Session B | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This course will give students real-world experience in reporting stories on deadline, under the supervision of a professional journalist from New York City with more than a decade of experience. You will learn the basics of news reporting and then get to practice writing, interviewing and visual storytelling in the field. You’ll learn how to spot and develop a story, how to work well under deadlines, how to use your phone as a reporting tool and how to get strangers to open up to you. We’ll also discuss how to begin and navigate a career in journalism.
Instructor: Jason Silverstein, visiting instructor.
Jason Silverstein is the supervising politics producer for the CBS News social media team, working with correspondents in New York City and Washington to cover national politics for a digital audience.