HPSS Courses
HPSS W195-101
HORROR, FEAR, & HUMAN CONDITION
SECTION DESCRIPTION
How and why does fear motivate human action? In what ways do we try to address the effects of fear, both individually and collectively? How do things like morality and religion inform our solutions to the problem(s) of fear? To what extent do concepts such as virtue or ethics hold up in the face of fear? In this class we will use literature from the horror genre as well as excerpts from select philosophers, to address these questions. In addressing these questions, this course speaks to how both the horror genre specifically and literature more generally aid philosophy in its attempt to help us understand important aspects of the human experience.
Elective
HPSS W241-101
FROM THE MODEL T AND THE SUV TO THE TESLA MODEL 3: THE CAR AND THE WORLD IT MADE
SECTION DESCRIPTION
It was an American automobile maker, Henry Ford, who invented the assembly line. When he decided to pay his workers a five-dollar-a-day wage, he also invented America's middle class, by providing a wage that allowed autoworkers to enter the ranks of the nation's consumers. Cars have come a long way since those first Model T's rolled off of Ford's assembly line. Through their ever-changing styles, from the streamlined interwar years to the tailfins of the postwar years, we can trace both the evolution of American modernism and its connection to Cold War politics and ambivalence towards the Atomic Age. More compact designs and an emphasis on fuel economy heralded an era of increased foreign competition. For more than a century, the auto industry's need for petroleum and rubber has fueled American imperialism in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. From coast to coast cars created a new cultural landscape, one filled with highways, suburbs, shopping malls, police, and roadside oddities. Throughout its long history, the car has been a shifting symbol of innovation, prosperity, consumerism, and the American Dream; youth culture, rebellion, and sex; both liberation and oppression for women, people of color, and immigrants; and, more recently, environmental degradation, deindustrialization, the decline of labor unions, and America's struggle to compete in an increasingly globalized economy. Now, in the twenty-first century, the rise of Uber and ride-sharing, the advent of self-driving vehicles, a renewed emphasis on public transportation and walkability, and an entire generation that appears uninterested in driving, one cannot help but wonder whether we are witnessing the end of America's long love affair with the open road.
Elective
HPSS W267-101
REFLECTING AND QUIETING IN WINTER
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Winter is a time of reflection, rest, and quieting. In this course, we will explore ways of embracing this season by considering various practices related to the qualities of wintering. This will include topics related to mindfulness/meditation, self-compassion, reflection, and the stage of growth that comes through pause. Throughout the course, we will visit these topics through the lens of psychological theory and research with readings and in-class discussion. We will also allow for time to engage in practices of wintering.
Elective
HPSS W351-101
AMERICAN WAR FILMS IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Films have shaped popular perceptions of war in the United States arguably more than historians have. This raises questions such as: What is the relationship between the history presented in these films and the history as interpreted by academic historians? How do the positionalities of movie creators shape the product? How do they portray soldiers and civilians, allies and enemies? How might these movies serve as cultural artifacts offering insight into political discourses at the time of their production? Is Francois Truffaut correct that the appeals of battle make a true anti-war film virtually impossible? Prominent directors spotlighted include Stanley Kubrick, F. F. Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Spike Lee, and Kathryn Bigelow. Work involves brief lectures, screenings, discussions, a film journal, and a final project.
Elective
HPSS W351-102
AMERICAN WAR FILMS IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Films have shaped popular perceptions of war in the United States arguably more than historians have. This raises questions such as: What is the relationship between the history presented in these films and the history as interpreted by academic historians? How do the positionalities of movie creators shape the product? How do they portray soldiers and civilians, allies and enemies? How might these movies serve as cultural artifacts offering insight into political discourses at the time of their production? Is Francois Truffaut correct that the appeals of battle make a true anti-war film virtually impossible? Prominent directors spotlighted include Stanley Kubrick, F. F. Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Spike Lee, and Kathryn Bigelow. Work involves brief lectures, screenings, discussions, a film journal, and a final project.
Elective
HPSS W466-101
THE SOCIOLOGY OF BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SECTION DESCRIPTION
While many tend to think about bureaucracies in emotionally charged terms (for example, Kafka and Orwell) or treat them with sarcastic derision (e.g., Parkinson), bureaucratic organizations are specific social structures possessing well-defined characteristics and following certain logic of behavior and development. They are present in government and business, as well as non-government organizations. Individual entrepreneurs and small businesses have to deal with bureaucracies to survive and thrive. This course will tell you how to behave around bureaucratic organizations. There are four major themes: organizational behavior, organizational boundaries, organizational environment, and interaction between organizations. Each theme will be looked at from the point of view of various types of bureaucracies: government, private, and non-profit. We will have a specific discussion of social entrepreneurship and its ability to navigate bureaucratic structures. Special attention will be paid to interaction between government and private bureaucracies. The course relies on a combination of lectures and in-class discussion. Students will be asked to write four short papers based on case studies and present them in class. There will be a final exam.
Elective
HPSS W466-102
THE SOCIOLOGY OF BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SECTION DESCRIPTION
While many tend to think about bureaucracies in emotionally charged terms (for example, Kafka and Orwell) or treat them with sarcastic derision (e.g., Parkinson), bureaucratic organizations are specific social structures possessing well-defined characteristics and following certain logic of behavior and development. They are present in government and business, as well as non-government organizations. Individual entrepreneurs and small businesses have to deal with bureaucracies to survive and thrive. This course will tell you how to behave around bureaucratic organizations. There are four major themes: organizational behavior, organizational boundaries, organizational environment, and interaction between organizations. Each theme will be looked at from the point of view of various types of bureaucracies: government, private, and non-profit. We will have a specific discussion of social entrepreneurship and its ability to navigate bureaucratic structures. Special attention will be paid to interaction between government and private bureaucracies. The course relies on a combination of lectures and in-class discussion. Students will be asked to write four short papers based on case studies and present them in class. There will be a final exam.
Elective
HPSS W505-101
PUPPETS IN MODERN AMERICAN CULTURE AND MEDIA
SECTION DESCRIPTION
For millennia, puppetry has been an artform used in everything from religious ritual to entertainment in cultures across the world. In this class students will encounter an idiosyncratic and episodic examination of puppetry with an emphasis on the late modern era and especially twentieth-century American media and culture. The course will consider puppetry’s historical importance as a signifier of childhood, a pioneer of theater, an artifact of the abject, a mystical technology, a cinematic special effect, a literary device, and a metaphor in politics, art, and life. The class with engage the majesty of puppetry through film and video screenings; close readings; poetry, song and art; student presentations; mini-lectures; and discussions.
Elective
HPSS W506-101
TEXT TRANSFORMED: WRITING IN THE AGE OF AI
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This hybrid seminar/studio considers the cultural impact of AI writing systems. Readings, discussion, and text experiments will explore how Large Language Models (LLMs) are complicating the future of authorship. How does GPT-4 work? What can it reveal about the nature of language? And what skills will be lost when machines do our writing for us? Topics include: Plato and the oral tradition, chance operations, Turing tests, and the emergence of computational linguistics. In-class workshops will apply machine learning tools to the practices of translation, revision, group writing, and spoken word (using AI voice clones). Students will submit weekly reading responses and a final research essay on a topic of their choice.
Elective
LAEL 1521-101
*S.AFRICA: ART AND SCIENCE OF CONSERVATION
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This immersive interdisciplinary Wintersession course offered by RISD Global is for art and design students interested in exploring past and current efforts to conserve biodiversity in Southern Africa while also developing their communication and documentation skills.
On location for two weeks in South Africa and one in Namibia, this course is co-taught by longtime RISD faculty members, artist Susan Doyle (Professor, Illustration), and scientist Dr. Lucy Spelman (Senior Lecturer/HPSS.) Students will study the local biodiversity, how local people and visitors interact with nature, and how art, science, and traditional ecological knowledge influence and inform conservation decisions. Once back on campus, students spend two weeks on a final art/design project that explores the concept of conservation based on their African experience. In addition to a completed work of art or design, the final project will include
- an artist statement that describes the student’s artistic aim/inspiration/process
- an annotated essay/summary of the scientific references and literary influences that informed their art
Registration is not available in Workday. Students must complete an application through RISD Global. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required and permission of instructor. Failure to remain in good academic standing can lead to removal from the course, either before or during the course. Most courses are open to first year students with approval from the Dean of Experimental and Foundation Studies.
LAEL 1530-01
*GUYANA: EXPLORING THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BIODIVERSITY IN GUYANA
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This immersive interdisciplinary Summer Studies course offered by RISD Global is for art and design students interested in exploring the extraordinary biodiversity of Guyana while also considering the role of ecotourism as a conservation strategy.
On location for three weeks in Guyana, this course will be taught by longtime RISD faculty member, scientist Dr. Lucy Spelman (Senior Lecturer/HPSS) and a fine arts graduate student TA - to be determined.
The class travels by road and stays at a variety of eco-lodges in different ecoregions. Students will explore the local culture and study the local ecology, flora, fauna, geology, and night sky. They will learn from local guides and researchers; visit Amerindian villages and local shops; and document the experience by keeping both a written and visual journal, annotated with relevant scientific references. Once back in the capital city of Georgetown, the class will organize a pop-up exhibition in collaboration with a community arts group, Moving Circle, that asks: what is “eco” about ecotourism? The curriculum emphasizes the importance of cross-cultural learning, connecting ideas, information, and methodologies across the arts and biological sciences. Teaching modalities include lectures, walks in nature, drawing in nature, independent study time for reading, writing, and making and group discussion.
SCI 1007-01
CONCEPTS IN MATHEMATICS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Mathematicians are artists of the imagination. This course is an exploration of their abstract conceptual systems which have almost inadvertently yielded spectacularly successful real world results. It also looks at suggested artistic modes of thought and strategies of artistic exploration. Discussions will include imagination as a valid perception of the world (a sixth sense); high orders of infinity; abstraction, idealization and reality; the geometry of vision, other non-Euclidean geometries and the relation of these geometries to our universe. Regular attendance, some assignments and outside reading are required.
Elective
SCI 1045-01
TOPICS IN PHYSICS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Advanced and basic topics in the physical sciences are explored in this class. An overview of space-time and the expanding universe is followed by topics in: light quantum, the atom, and quantum physics. Other topics include wave-particle duality, gravity, time, black holes, and the special and general theories of relativity. Then we examine the unification of physics through the emerging result of (super) string theory which in spite of the incompatibility between general relativity and quantum mechanics harmoniously unites (and also requires) these conflicting theories. The already non-intuitive dimensions of space-time beautifully expand in the quantum geometry of string theory.
Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Graduate Students.
Elective
SCI 1068-01
ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS AND DESIGN SOLUTIONS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
The goals of this course are threefold:
(1) to explain how the natural world works, and how humans physically change and are changed by some of its processes
(2) To emphasize how society understands, evaluates and confronts the dangers posed by these natural processes
(3) To encourage students to view the unique sets of problems caused by flooding, earthquakes, tsunami, climate change and other earth functions as challenges demanding intelligent and creative solutions that they are equipped to deliver.
Case studies of recent natural disasters and design solutions will be discussed, and students own creativity and concepts for potential design solutions will be employed. No prior science background is required.
Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Graduate Students.
Elective
SCI 1084-01
BIOLOGY OF ANIMAL-HUMAN INTERACTIONS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course, taught by zoological medicine veterinarian Dr. Lucy Spelman examines how we interact with animals-both domestic and wild-and how, in turn, these interactions affect us. Each week we focus on a different species, working our way up the taxonomic tree from corals to gorillas. We study the animal's basic biology, including its anatomy, natural history, and ecology. We consider the role it plays in human society, including as companions, as food, and, as sources of medicine and spiritual inspiration. We study how human activity is affecting its health and the ripple effect on our own health. We explore how agriculture, climate change, emerging diseases, habitat loss, hunting, and trade are driving many species to extinction. In the process, we discover that while many human-animal interactions are positive, many more are problematic, and that although we have solutions for most of these negative interactions, we often fail to implement them. Examples include excessive antibiotic use in cows, the continued loss of wetlands threatening frogs, and, the increasing number of coyotes favored by urban landscapes. We explore some of the underlying reasons for this inaction. In their final project, students identify a problematic human-animal interaction and explore solutions. This course is designed to encourage you to explore the range of biological complexity in the animal world, the many ways we interact with animals, both domestic and wild, and, the scientific basis of the interconnectedness of health. You will also have the opportunity to explore solutions for problematic human-animal interactions; it is possible to live in balance with animals if we make informed decisions. The material presented will challenge you to learn more about animal classification, zoology, ecology, food animal science, veterinary medicine, public health, and conservation biology. For your final project, you will research a problematic human-animal interaction, explore potential solutions, and create a work of art or design that inspires others to take action.
Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Graduate Students.
Elective
SCI 1085-01
UNDERSTANDING THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF NATURAL SCIENCES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
How do the soil, bedrock and water create habitat for living things? What are the roles that diverse living (and dead) organisms play in an ecosystem? We will explore the myriad of ways in which the natural sciences of geology, ecology, botany and zoology can inform our awareness of the world around us, including the problems we create in the environment. This course aims to show -- in lecture, lab and field -- how understanding basic natural sciences, and the connections they illuminate, can open our eyes to the natural diversity around us. Through careful observation, both during class and on their own, students will create ways to communicate the intricacy of these networks.
Elective
SCI 1089-01
INTRODUCTION TO INSECT MORPHOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Has the unfathomable diversity of insects ever fascinated you, but left you wondering where to begin? This is a basic course in entomology for the natural historian and artist. All orders of Class Insecta will be introduced, with both field and lab components whenever possible. Basic insect morphology and ecology will be covered for most orders, with opportunities for artistic rendition and use of both live and dead specimens as models. Students will learn basic insect anatomy and taxonomy for the identification of insects to order-level. Elements of insect ecology will infiltrate everything we look at, in both the field and the lab. Emphasis will be placed on the major orders (beetles, flies, butterflies/moths, etc.); the minor orders will be covered to varying degrees, but this can be adjusted according to the class consensus. Coursework will include field collecting trips, observation and drawing of specimens using a microscope, identification quizzes, and a course project that will emphasize the creation of materials for educational outreach. Additionally, students will finish with their own curated insect collection identified to order-level (or beyond, if student desires).
Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Graduate Students.
Elective
SCI 1092-01
VISUAL PERCEPTION
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In this course we will examine the major psychological theories of color, form, depth, and motion perception. To this end, we will explore the nature of light and optics, the structure of the eye and visual pathways of the brain, and the sensory and cognitive processes which mediate visual perception. The roles of learning, memory, imagination, as well as social and cultural factors will be explored. There will be weekly class discussions of readings as well as individual presentations on various topics, some quizzes, a final paper and final class presentation.
Elective
SCI 1096-01
URBAN ECOLOGY: HOW WILDLIFE INTERACTS WITH URBANIZING LANDSCAPE
SECTION DESCRIPTION
We frequently hear about animal (and plant) species that become common nuisances in urban areas, and we hear about how natural habitat loss leads to the disappearance of other species-not to mention the emergence of new diseases. This course will approach the area of urban ecology from a natural science perspective. We will learn about a broad variety of North American organisms (vertebrate, invertebrate, plant and pathogen), from diverse habitat types, and their ecological patterns and processes with regard to urbanization. We will also conduct field experiments to evaluate certain patterns in our greater Providence landscape for ourselves. Ultimately, how do urban wildlife patterns affect the lives of our species, Homo sapiens? Coursework will include frequent readings, outdoor field trips, observational chronicling and group discussions.
Elective
SCI 1100-01
COMPARATIVE VERTEBRATE ANATOMY: FORM AND FUNCTION
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course examines the form and function of the vertebrate body using a comparative approach. We will study the following anatomical structures and how they work by comparing them across vertebrate animals: eye/vision, ear/hearing, nose/smell, throat/taste, teeth and jaws/chewing, heart/circulation, lung/oxygen exchange, intestinal tract/digestion, kidneys/protein and electrolyte balance, musculoskeletal system/locomotion, lymph tissue/immune system, reproductive tract/reproduction, and the brain and spinal cord/nervous system. Reference animals will include those for which anatomy is best-known, including humans, dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens, bullfrogs, and salmon. Each session will begin with an examination of the structure of an anatomical region followed by an exploration of its function, including movements and processes in example species. For their final project, students will be encouraged to explore a highly developed or specialized form and its function, such how kangaroos jump, how octopuses see, and how giant pandas digest bamboo. Through this course, we will demystify and develop an appreciation for the wondrous complexity of the vertebrate body and its role in art and design. This is a lecture-style course that includes in-class discussion, research and activities. Course work includes weekly readings and written responses, a series of completed anatomical sketches, and a final project.
Elective