Spring 2026
Declaration of Independence LO10 (Taylor 鈥� HIST) new seminar
- The Declaration of Independence is crucial in the American story and is one of the most significant documents in world history. This is a reading and writing course on the Declaration-its origins, context and development-and five crucial books on the document: Carl Becker's The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas (1922); Garry Wills' Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (1978); Pauline Maier's American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (1997); David Armitage's The Declaration of Independence: A Global History (2007); and Danielle Allen's Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014). We read, discuss and write about all of them. The course will count for the 'humanities' (LO10) general degree requirement.
Fall 2026
Religion, Animals & Being 鈥淗uman鈥� LO2/LO10 (Proctor 鈥� RELI)
- This course provides an in-depth exploration of the complex interactions between religious traditions, ideas and practices surrounding animals and understandings of 鈥渉uman鈥� identities and natures. Course will treat topics including animal rights activism, vegetarianism, animal sacrifice, ritual practice among animals, religious debates over human evolution, the animal 鈥渞oots鈥� of religious belief and practice and recent theorizations of the 鈥減osthuman.鈥�
Christian Existentialism: Faith, Freedom, and Meaning LO2/LO10 (Bailey - PHIL)
- This course explores the intersection of existentialist philosophy and Christian thought, examining how thinkers across history have wrestled with questions of meaning, despair, freedom, and hope. We will engage classical existentialist tests, such as Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Gabriel Marcel, and Paul Tillich, which also bringing in contemporary voices like Cornel West, Howard Thurman and even your own professor, Julius Bailey who extends Christian existentialism into the realms of race, justice, and prophetic witness.
- Key questions include: What does it mean to live authentically before God? How does Christian existentialism differ from atheistic existentialism? How do sin, despair, and redemption shape human existence? How do faith and freedom remain relevant in a world scarred by injustice and suffering?
- As both a philosopher and a Christian Existentialist, I will guide students in exploring these ideas as living questions, not abstract doctrines, and encourage students to integrate philosophy, theology, and personal reflection.
Spring 2027
Applying Data Concepts through Rollercoasters, National Parks, and Board Games LO4Q/LO9 (Daiga 鈥� EDUC) new seminar
- Through an active learning environment, students will examine how statistical concepts and research methods exist and can be applied in contexts. Utitilizing rollercoasters, national parks, and board games, we will critically examine the visual and numerical structure that exists while utilizing a variety of research methods to understand applied quantitative structures.
Fall 2027
From Pixels to Power-ups: Decoding the Artistic Dimensions of Video Games LO2/LO10 (Gimenez-Berger 鈥� ART) new seminar
- In this course, we will explore the significance of video games as dynamic artifacts. Through the lens of art history, we will dissect the visual allure, narrative complexities, and societal values embedded in these virtual landscapes, exploring their role as cultural products that both are shaped by, and reshape, our experience of the world.