Monday AM   

We face an authoritarian attempt to end true participatory democracy. This course examines the threats that are present and the steps that can be taken to strengthen and improve real participatory democracy. The next six months are crucial to this effort. Detailed presentation on gerry- mandering, Project 2025, electoral college, partisan politics, sources of campaign finance, and voter suppression efforts, political effects of social media and AI.
New in-person course. Format includes lecture and discussion.

This course is about how we should — and how we actually do — make important decisions. It is based on two bodies of economic theory developed recently: game theory and behavioral economics. The former examines rational decision-making: i.e., how we should do it. The latter examines our actual decision-making; our biases and what we might do to mitigate them. With a mix of experiments, mini-lectures, videos, and examples, we will look at how to signal cooperation, how to threaten, how to bid at an auction, how to negotiate.
Repeat in-person course. Format includes lecture, discussion, film, and hands-on learning.

Despite the early tales of Boccaccio and Chaucer, Edgar Allan Poe is widely credited, circa 1840, with defining and establishing the modern short story as a distinct literary genre. Join a group of enthusiastic readers (and talkers) to explore the short story — this term’s text is The Best Short Stories, 2023, edited by Lauren Groff — also the O.Henry Prize Winners. Don’t be misled by the O. Henry — they will not all have twists at their finish.

New remote course. Format includes discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: The Best American Short Stories 2023, The O. Henry Prize Winners; Lauren Groff, ed.; ISBN 9780593470596

On va lire ce roman de l’auteur Annie Ernaux et discuter les thèmes de son roman biographique. Vous allez lire le livre en français et les discussions seront toutes en français.

New in-person course. Format includes discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: La Place Ernaux, Annie Ernaux, ISBN-10: 2070377229 / ISBN-13: 978-2070377220

Why do so many great violinists also become composers? This course will explore the fascinating legacy of violinist-composers, including Baroque virtuosos like Heinrich Biber, Romantic legends like Niccolò Paganini, and 20th century innovators like George Enescu and Grazyna Bacewicz. Through listening and discussing, we will examine how these artists wrote music tailored to their instruments and themselves. Taught by a professional violinist, this course offers a behind-the-strings look at how performance and composition intertwine.

This class will read novels from four renowned Black authors with distinctive narrative styles exploring the complexities of contemporary Black American life. The novels will engage with major themes, including racial identity, systemic and generational trauma, the burdens of Black artistry, poverty, and resilience. Using both humor and pathos, the class will analyze
the unique viewpoints of these writers and the profound insights they offer on what it means to be Black in America today. Guided by experienced facilitators from the previous classes, we will read and discuss four novels in eight weeks. The class is highly participatory so come prepared to immerse yourself. Please read the first half of I Am Not Sidney Poitier for the first class.
New remote course. Format includes discussion.
REQUIRED BOOKS: I Am Not Sidney Poitier, Percival Everett, ISBN 9781555975272; Colored Television: A Novel, Danzy Senna, ISBN 9780593544372; Salvage the Bones: A Novel, Jesmyn Ward, ISBN 9781608196265; Hell of a Book, Jason Mott, ISBN 9780593330982