GES 183: California Desert Geologic Field Trip
This class studies geology—from lava flows to ore deposits—at the source, with a six-day field trip over Thanksgiving recess to the Mojave Desert, Death Valley and Owens Valley. No frills: camping and moderate hiking. Instructor: Gail Mahood
COMPLIT 40 Q: Aesthetics of Dissent: The Case of Islamic Iran
Iranian dissident artists have cleverly found ways to fight the Islamic regime's draconian measures with works as sophisticated in style as they are rich in their discourse of democracy and dissent. Through discussion of post-revolutionary masterpieces of film, fiction and music, students gain an understanding of the aesthetic tropes of dissent in Iran, and the social and theological roots of censorship. Instructor: Abbas Milani
CHEMENG 70 Q: Masters of Disaster
Learn from past disasters to avoid future ones by studying the roles of engineers, artisans, politicians, lawyers and scientists in the design of products—and what can happen when the design process is skirted. Student teams design new products, presumably disaster-proof. Instructor: John Moalli
ENGLISH 129: The Grotesque: Studies in the Bizarre and Unnatural
What kinds of ideas can be better conveyed by the grotesque than by the beautiful? What techniques and tactics have authors developed to shock or surprise us? And why are we, as an audience, attracted to representations of objects or events that seem designed to repel us? Syllabus includes literature (Grimm's Fairy Tales, Poe's short stories and Hoffman's The Sandman), film (Murnau's Nosferatu) and theoretical writing (Freud and Nietzsche). Instructor: Mark Algee-Hewitt
HISTORY 50 N: Who Killed Jane Stanford?
Practice intellectual collaboration by acting as a grand jury in the real-life, unsolved case of Jane Stanford's death by strychnine poisoning. Identify suspects and examine persons of interest, including the president of Stanford. Instructor: Richard White.
