Faculty from across the curriculum participated in a summer study to design (or redesign) courses that will engage students in learning about the interconnections of a capitalistic society through experiential means both inside and outside of the classroom.
These are among the courses that will be offered in the future:
Asian Entrepreneurs: Navigating Markets & Politics
Professor: Neil Diamant
This course delves into the complex interplay between historical, economic and political forces that produced some of the best known Asian companies. Covering entrepreneurs such as Jack Ma (Alibaba), Morris Chang (TMSC), Chung Ju-yung (Hyundai), Zhang Yiming (ByteDance/TikTok), Bang Si-Hyuk (BigHit Entertainment, BTS), Johnny Kitagwawa (J-Pop), Terry Gou (FoxConn) and Soichiro Honda (Honda), students will learn about how these entrepreneurs achieved global success and the challenges they faced (and continue to face) while doing so. The course will pay particular attention to the role of wars (hot and cold), U.S. foreign policy, neoliberalism, democratization, China’s post-Mao economic reforms and the development of the Asian cultural industry (K-Pop, J-Pop, TikTok).
Artificial Intelligence in Finance
Professor: Qing Bai
AI technology has improved drastically, and simple artificial intelligence systems are already in use in a wide range of everyday services. The course goes beyond the hype and takes a sober look at the power and limitations of AI and how it can be effectively deployed in the finance sector.
Data Analytics Capstone
Professor: Eren Bilen
A capstone course that provides students with an opportunity to apply the data analytics knowledge they have acquired to independent research projects. At least one of the projects must be derived from the chosen discipline's specific electives. Students will get experience in all aspects of solving real-world problems, including project planning, consideration of legal and ethical issues, collecting and processing data, analyzing and interpreting results, writing reports and giving presentations.
Global Business: Theories & Context
Professor: Forrest Watson
This course explores the “macro-contextual” factors that confront managers of a business organization, the possible implications of those factors for organizational performance and the choices managers make within that context. The macro-context for any firm consists of a combination of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. In the current era, awareness of context is increasingly important for students and practitioners alike. Topics in the course include climate change, the revolution in information technology, global population dynamics, regional and global economic integration, international trade and investment, exchange rate dynamics and collaboration among businesses and other organizations.
Research in Development Economics
Professor: Shamma Alam
This class will focus on research in the economics of international development. As the world economy becomes increasingly interconnected, the course will shed light on how both global and local factors influence economic development across different regions. The class would cover key topics in global development, including children's education, child labor, health issues, population and fertility dynamics, household bargaining issues, international migration, effects of climate change, and agricultural practices. Students will explore how various global economic factors, such as economic policies, financial systems, and the roles of international organizations, impact development outcomes across different countries. The course aims to equip students with the analytical tools and knowledge necessary to comprehend and critically evaluate research in economics.
History of Environments
Professor: Emily Pawley
This course examines the interaction between humans and the natural environment in long-term global context. The course also explores the problem of sustainable human uses of world environments in various societies, from prehistory to the present.
Philosophy of Work
Professor: Emily Kelahan
This course will guide students through a variety of fundamental questions about the nature of work and will hone their ability to develop their own positions through consideration of normative case studies (e.g., mouse jigglers and mouse jiggler surveillance, intellectual property litigation, FTC banning noncompetes, paying student athletes).
Biomedical Ethics
Professor: Amy McKiernan
A study of ethical issues arising in the context of medical practice, biomedical research, and health related policy making, with focus on the ethical concepts, theories and reasoning methods developed to clarify and resolve these issues.
Public Speaking: Secrets From the Classical Tradition
Professor: Chris Francese
An introduction to the ancient art of public persuasion, with examination of more recent examples of effective speeches at crucial junctures in American history, insights from the Greek and Roman theorists and practitioners and practice putting these ideas and techniques to use. Since speech can be a weapon as well as an art, the class examines the ethical aspects of oratory in the context of citizenship in a republic.
Spanish for Business Professions
Professor: Julie Lesman
This is a specialized course that emphasizes the language of business. Students will study the lexicon and language protocols appropriate to the basic functions of international business. The goal is to improve oral, reading and writing skills while acquiring a general business vocabulary and a broadened intercultural perspective.
The Not So Beautiful Game: Thinking About Football (Soccer) Culture in Britain
Professor: Andrew Farrant
Why are the British obsessed with football? Why are much of the rest of the world obsessed with Britain’s obsession with football? In this seminar we will engage in an in-depth exploration of many aspects—beautiful and not-so beautiful—of British football culture. Along the way we will encounter and write about a number of iconic and legendary figures such as Brian Clough (Derby, Nottingham Forest), Don Revie (Leeds) and Bill Shankly (Liverpool), and a bevy of late 1960s and early-mid 1970s happy-go-lucky but ultimately misunderstood geniuses like George Best, Stan Bowles, and Rodney Marsh. Throughout the semester we will juxtapose aspects of the truly beautiful game, such as the Cruyff turn and Fila ski jumpers, with aspects of the not-so beautiful game, like the "bubble perms from hell" that were regularly sported by Liverpool’s late 1970s back four. We will also regularly explore the way in which many football fans, such as writers such as Nick Hornby, view the consumption of football and football culture as an intrinsic component of their identity. Similarly, we will explore how the vast increase in global TV rights money that has occurred in the period between the creation of the English Premier League in 1992 and 2024 has utterly transformed top-flight English football into what has been aptly described as “not just a football product but the global sports, business and entertainment behemoth it is today."
Stuff! The Material World of Global Inequality
Professor: Andrew Dufton
A social system dividing haves and have-nots, those with the power to acquire more ‘stuff’ and those without, is not a modern phenomenon. As a discipline dedicated both to the study of materials and understanding long-term cultural change, archaeology makes a unique contribution to these debates. This class considers social injustice across time and on a global scale, examining the ways in which the material world of objects, buildings, landscapes, and resources is created by—and creates—social divisions.