Fall 2019
Approved
Borderlands
Throughout human history, diverse peoples have been interacting with each other and their environment on the borderlands--places shaped by encounters across difference, with significant implications on culture and livelihood. This cluster focuses on the core issue of borderland encounters, and addresses a variety of common themes such as the concept and nature of borderlands, cultural exchange, power relations, ethnic experience, human- environmental interactions, and (trans)nationalism. The field study will explore the borderlands along China’s Southwest Silk Road through Yunnan province, which encompass diverse ethnic cultures such as Tibetans and Thai in Shangri-La and Xishuangbanna and borderlands environmental experiences along the Tea-Horse trading route.
Courses:
- ANTH 339: Migrants, Refugees, and Life Across Borders (Susanna Fioratta, Anthropology)
- EALC 353: The Environment on China’s Borderlands (Yonglin Jiang, East Asian Languages and Cultures)
- ENVS 118: Plants and People (Jonathan Wilson, Environmental Studies at Haverford)
360 Course Units: 3 units
Field Component: Field study in China’s borderlands, focusing on Yunnan province
Prerequisites: Anthropology 102 recommended
Special Note: Students who have taken a 200-level course in Environmental Studies, Biology, Geology, or a related field may enroll in ENVS 318 instead of ENVS 118
Open/Closed: all courses available to 360 students only (some seats may be available to majors/minors by permission of the instructor)
Through the College’s Ellery Yale Wood Collection of children’s and young adult books, students will investigate childhood, explore literature, and creatively engage in the process of writing children’s literature. The three courses offer differing perspectives on books written for young readers: as cultural historians and critics, as creative practitioners, and as people who may shape educational programs and policies in the future. Historical research, theoretical examination, investigation of the reception and afterlife of important stories, and close attention to the materiality of some of the best-loved objects of childhood will combine with the practical concerns of creating stories for children and communicating about the works.
Courses:
- ARTW 269: Writing for Children (Cordelia Jensen, Creative Writing)
- ENGL 289: Topics in the Ellery Yale Wood Collection: The Fantastic in Children’s Literature (Chloe Flower, English)
- SOCL 264: The Sociology of Childhood (Amanda Cox, Sociology)
360 Course Units: 3 units
Field Component: Student will contribute to an exhibition of selections from the Ellery Yale Wood Collection; some field trips to New York and Philadelphia
Prerequisites: none
Open/Closed: all courses open to non-360 students
Spring 2020
Approved
Climate Change: Science and Politics
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. This 360 cluster will integrate philosophical, scientific, mathematical, and policy perspectives to highlight both the complexity of the issue and the many innovative ideas that are being developed to address it worldwide . We will explore how scientific and technological development have combined with societal notions of the good life and public policy initiatives to promote the energy-intensive, growth-oriented consumer society. We will work actively with mathematical models of energy systems to evaluate the impact of various technologies and possible courses of action and intervention. We will look at how the advent of human-induced climate change has prompted new ways of thinking about quality of life, new technological approaches to energy supply and sustainable development, and new political solutions to problems of resource exploitation and environmental justice. We will explore community-level climate sustainability initiatives through fieldwork in the "green city" of Freiburg, Germany and in Philadelphia.
Courses:
- MATH 151: Introduction to Math and Sustainability (Victor Donnay, Mathematics)
- PHIL 238: Science, Technology, and the Good Life (Bob Dostal, Philosophy)
- POLS 256: Global Politics of Climate Change (Carol Hager, Political Science)
360 Course Units: 3 units
Field Component: 9-day travel to Freiburg, Germany and the surrounding "solar region" of the Black Forest (over Spring Break)
Special Programming: Guest lecture series, Philadelphia field trips
Prerequisites: none
Open/Closed: all courses available to 360 students only
Approved
Temperate and Tropical Coasts in Transition
Coastlines, by definition transitional environments, are naturally dynamic and resilient. But climate change, sea level rise and shifting species distributions are now causing rapid physical and ecological changes to the world’s coasts. Anticipating and addressing these changes requires understanding the physical, chemical and biological processes that interact at the land-sea boundary. Two trips over the course of the semester will investigate the temperate and tropical coastal environments, including barrier islands, saltmarshes, coral reefs, and mangroves.
Courses:
- GEOL 350: Carbonate Environments (Pedro Marenco, Geology)
- BIOL 323: Coastal & Marine Ecology (Thomas Mozdzer, Biology)
360 Course Units: 2 units
Field Component: One week-long field excursion (during spring break), to Belize, and one day trip to a research station along the US Mid-Atlantic coast
Prerequisites: BIOL 220: Ecology AND 1 full-semester Geology or Chemistry course
Open/Closed: all courses available to 360 students only
Approved
Migrations
This 360 will use the lenses of cultural studies and sociology to critically and comparatively examine migration in different national contexts and historical moments. We will focus in particular on the complex factors shaping migrations between Latin America and the United States, Latin American and Spain, and Asia and Latin America, as well as how migration is represented in literature and culture. We will probe questions of imperialism, economic and political policies, borders and exclusion, xenophobic discourse, transnational belonging, cultural citizenship, and how individuals and families are transformed through the process of migration. Our trip to the US-Mexican border will allow students to critically examine first-hand the interplay between U.S. migration policy, globalization, social justice movements, and individual agency.
Courses:
- ENGL 236: Latina/o Culture and the Art of Migration (Jennifer Harford Vargas, English)
- SOCL 246: Sociology of Migration: A Cross-Cultural Overview of Contemporary Challenges (Veronica Montes, Sociology)
- SPAN 243: Temas de la Literatura Hispana: Migration in the Hispanic World (Rosi Song, Spanish)
360 Course Units: 3 units
Field Component: Week-long travel to US-Mexico border
Special Programming: Visits to Philadelphia-area NGOs
Prerequisites: none
Open/Closed: all courses available to 360 students only
