Social Studies

Human Crossroads: Confronting Global Challenges through Time, Identity, and Place

Human Crossroads asks students to respond to some of the world’s greatest challenges using an interdisciplinary approach that draws from the intersection of geography, history, anthropology, and sociology. The curriculum is composed of units dedicated to central thematic questions ranging from the meaning of human identity to the value of borders, the possibility of religious pluralism, and vexing problems of global inequities. Each unit starts by asking, “What is where, why there, why care?” using maps. Course material and projects include current events, academic texts, online resources, and data visualizations. Students learn to read actively, analyze maps, interpret data, write thesis-driven essays, and synthesize information, with according skill-based assessments. This class is not only intended to develop academic skills, but to foster curiosity, self-reflection, global citizenship, and a renewed commitment to the pursuit of truth, love, and justice in the world. (Full year course)

The Modern World

First, the good news: many people alive today are better off than all other humans who have preceded them. That may not surprise you. But, the bad news will: many others alive today are actually worse off than their predecessors. That includes medieval serfs, African tribesmen, and even prehistoric cavemen! How can this be? The modern world, loosely defined as the last two centuries of human life, has witnessed some of the most dramatic transformations in our history. Yet, those transformations have often functioned as a double-edged sword, bringing great reward to some and devastation to others. Why did these changes occur in the first place? Why did certain countries and people benefit while others suffered? And what does this say about the world we live in now, and where we’re headed in the future? This course endeavors to answer those questions through a wide-ranging study of the last 200+ years, from the Industrial Revolution through to the present. (Full year course)

United States History

While chronological, this course focuses on several themes that have reverberated throughout the American experience. The central theme is the epochal tug-of-war between Jefferson’s credo of equality and its paradoxical partners: conquest, slavery, and racism amidst a diversity of historic proportions; gender discrimination; and the class inequalities generated within a dynamic economy. Accordingly, we will pay significant attention to the history of movements that challenge the dominant meaning of equality, such as labor unions, suffragists, and the multitude of civil rights movements across time. The nation’s history is also traced through the tensions between a deep-rooted fear of centralized power and the drive for an efficient and powerful federal government. Lastly, significant time is given to U.S. involvement in global affairs, with a particular stress on presidential decision-making, and its impact both abroad and at home. While classic political issues are at the core of the course, there are times—such as the era between Reconstruction and World War I—when the magnitude of cultural and economic changes are at the heart of an era. We will use a very wide range of primary and college-level secondary sources. (Full year course)

American Studies

American Studies is a field of study that integrates many traditional disciplines into a single search for the answer to the question, “What is an American?” In our American Studies course, we will look at American lives. What richness, spirit, creativity, and heartbreak do we see in the Dreamers, the Builders, the Rulebreakers, the new Pioneers, and the Seekers? How do these individuals reinforce or challenge our ideas about who is an American? How have experiences of immigration, enslavement, westward expansion, urbanization, and war impacted Americans, and how can we better understand these experiences through studying the past and present in dialogue with one another?  Where do we see ourselves in this tapestry of American experience? The course will take a multidisciplinary approach, looking at primary and secondary historical texts, literature, film, visual art, and music. We will read historians including Richard Cronon, Kenneth Jackson, Jill Lepore, Isabel Wilkerson, and Howard Zinn, and writers such as Julia Alvarez, James Baldwin, Alison Bechdel, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Louise Erdrich, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Allen Ginsburg, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jhumpa Lahiri, Audre Lorde, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Alice Walker, and Walt Whitman. We’ll be inspired by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen; Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, Jacob Lawrence, and Georgia O’Keefe; Frank Capra, Lorraine Hansberry, and Arthur Miller. Writing assignments continue the development of narrative and analytical skills and will offer the opportunity for some creative writing as well. Over the course of the year, students will also continue to develop their collaboration, research, and presentation skills, and will be responsible for planning and teaching class sessions. This course is worth two credits and satisfies both U.S. History and English 11 requirements. Prerequisite: English 10. (Full year course)

Honors Economics: The Language of Choices

The aim of this honors elective course is the study of economics through the choices humans make at both the micro and macro level; applied to real-world examples.  Since economics incorporates elements of history, geography, psychology, sociology, political theory and many other related fields of study, students will be expected to approach this course with a wide array of interests in the social sciences.  Alongside the empirical observations of economic choice and outcome, students will be asked to formulate questions around how they, as economics participants, can apply the principals of this course to the world around them. Encouraging students to explore such questions forms the central focus of the economics course.This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Fall semester course)

Honors The Election 2020

In this semester-long honors-level course, we will explore the institution of the American presidency, both throughout history and in its current form. We will ask: who is the American president? How is the American president chosen and who really does the choosing? To answer these questions, our sources will range from blogs, twitter feeds and pundits, to the Constitution and core voices in American political philosophy. We’ll track developments of the 2020 election in real time while also informing our thinking from a historical perspective, following the evolution of the elections process and the institution of the presidency throughout its 230-year history. We will examine the roles of pollsters and the media. We will look closely at the “ground game” of the two major parties, focusing in on the swing states that will determine who is our president for the next four years. Course assessment will involve research, blogging, analytical writing, group project-based work and public speaking. We will talk with representatives of the major campaigns and consider both their strategies and their rhetoric. Students will finish the class with a stronger understanding of the unique role of the American president, the complexities of the American electoral system and ideally, having shaped their own views of what they seek in executive branch leadership.  This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Fall semester course)

Honors Gender and Culture

How does gender shape our sense of who we are, both in the way we think of ourselves and in our relationships with others? This course will examine gender identity in relation to cultural identity, considering factors such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexuality, and nationality and how they shape the expectations, hierarchies, and affiliations that shape our lives. We will examine the way in which ideas about femininity, masculinity, and transgender expression impact cultural realms such as media, the arts, and family life; we will also consider gender in cross-cultural perspective so as to better understand the differing ways in which people experience gender. Drawing from social science fields such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology, as well humanistic fields such as history, literature, and art history, we will use an interdisciplinary approach to examine our own lives as well as the broader cultures in which we live. Students should expect to closely read a variety of texts and to write using creative, analytical, and ethnographic approaches; they will also be assessed on their engagement in course activities and discussion.  This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Fall semester course)

Honors Modern Middle East

Where did ISIS come from? What tools do experts use to predict the fate of Syria? What hopes are there for improving Palestinian-Israeli relations? How is the world’s greatest refugee crisis (from Syria) transforming neighboring states? What the heck is going on with the price of gasoline? What happened to the bright lights of the Arab Spring, and how will the struggle for supremacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran play out, particularly in the shadow of U.S. efforts to challenge Iran’s nuclear policy? These and other questions will be engaged in this course, which starts in the late 19th century, with the spread of Western imperialism in the region, examines the rise of secular nationalism in the age of decolonization, and lands squarely in today’s cauldron of religious ferment, ethnic conflict, and revolutionary hopes for a better tomorrow. Student research and oral presentations will be the major form of assessment in the class, which will adapt to the events as they are unfolding. This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Fall semester course)

Honors American Identity, Culture, and Food

If you are what you eat, then who are Americans?  This interdisciplinary course will consider the ways in which food has both demonstrated and changed American identities, including our own.  We will study the history of American food culture and the role it has played in American experiences of colonization, migration, immigration, and multiculturalism. Students will read not only historical analysis of these patterns, but also essays and fiction in which food serves as a way to represent, explore, or negotiate identity.  Assessments will require conducting research and observation on the past and present of food traditions that shape lives in Portland, as well as considering issues that impact access to food. Additionally, students will write and workshop essays in which they reflect upon their own identities through the language of food. Students will practice skills at historical research and participant observation, as well as writing and collaboration, and will have opportunities to share food while reflecting on community and identity. This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Spring semester course)

Honors The Rise of the Authoritarians

At the Cold War sputtered out at the end of the 1990s, it seemed to many that peace was at hand and democratic institutions were implanting themselves more deeply in much of the world.  From the vantage point of 2019, such sentiment looks terribly naïve.  This course examines the rise of authoritarianism in the 21st century, with a quick glance back to fascism in interwar Europe, and then proceeding to the transformation of Russia from a budding democracy to an autocratic state under Vladimir Putin.  Other key states (Turkey, China, the Philippines, and Brazil, among others) will serve as case studies of authoritarian rule, and finally, we will examine the United States through this lens.  Students interested in global politics, economics, social psychology, and social/traditional media, as well as the surveillance state, are encouraged to consider the course. This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Spring semester course)

Honors Philosophy: Practices in Thought and Action

The purpose of this honors elective course is to have students wrestle with the specific areas of philosophical problems and issues, and to gain experience in practicing the act of being a ‘philosopher’. Questions revolving around ethics, determinism, and theories of the self and the collective will be the focal points as students navigate the dynamics of their own thinking. This course is open to Juniors enrolled in US History or American Studies (with Instructor permission) and Seniors. Seniors will have priority in scheduling. (Spring semester course)

Honors Dialogue for Democracy

What role does journalism play in creating and maintaining a healthy democracy? How might we learn to be more critical media consumers and, in turn, more deeply engaged democratic citizens? In this interdisciplinary course, students will consider these questions as they learn about the history and role of journalism as foundational to democracy. Over the course of the semester, students will study journalistic ethics, media and rhetorical analysis, the history of print media, news in the divided digital age, and core journalistic writing and multimedia production skills. In addition, students will spend time in the community in and outside of school learning from both experienced journalists and local citizens. As part of the CatlinSpeak staff, students will practice writing and publishing for an audience by producing weekly content and one print edition per semester of CatlinSpeak, an award-winning, student-created online news magazine and print newspaper. This is an honors-level year-long class offering .5 Social Studies credit and .5 English credit (which can count toward a senior’s spring-semester English course). This course is open to all grade levels and may be taken more than once for credit. Students who take more than one year of the course will be eligible for editorial and other leadership positions. Open to all Upper School students. (Full year course)

This Mortal Coil (Honors Palma Seminar)

In the words of Jean-Paul Sartre, “everything has been figured out, except how to live.” In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will explore that question from a wide range of perspectives, pulling from the wisdom of the ages, our own lived experiences, and elders and experts in our community. We will examine different stages in life--from play and identity development in childhood to reconciling end-of-life scenarios. We will read works of philosophy and religion, converse with local faith leaders, and explore the psychological and sociological impact of our collective fear of death. And, we will produce biographical and autobiographical works, telling our stories and the stories of others. Students should be prepared for regular off-campus trips into the community during the school day and potentially occasional obligations outside of school hours. This course will count for a half-History credit and a half-English credit. Open to all Upper School students. (Full year course) 

Catlin Gabel Upper School is pleased to present the following “Immersive” offerings for the 2019-20 school year. Students will enroll in the fall, and we will end the year participating in these 10-day mini-courses; global trips and seniors projects will occur during the same period. We expect all students to participate. Students will have opportunities to explore areas of interest in a variety of topics. Immersive courses will be graded Pass / No Pass and noted on student transcripts.

Steam Roller Block Printing

We will jump into the materials and processes of block printing. First, we will create drawings and designs, and then we’ll carve those into linoleum and wood printing blocks. Then we’ll experiment and explore a variety of inking and printing methods to produce unique prints on paper and fabric. Once we have an understanding of the process in a studio setting, we will take the leap into going big (I mean really BIG). We will spend the bulk of the two weeks creating large-scale images and then hand-carve those into sheets of plywood. These printing blocks will be so large that we will be using a steam roller as our printing press to print them onto large sheets of canvas! There will be opportunities to combine other art-making materials and processes into your printing projects, such as spray painting, hand-painting, and 3-D sculptural elements.

Service Animal Startup

Students will learn about animal service organizations through site visits, guest speakers, and possibly a day trip to Vashon High School outside of Seattle where an animal service program is in place. Our potential objective (to be approved) will be to establish a service animal club at Catlin Gabel during the 2020-21 academic year, where students train service animals who reside on campus during the day with club members and go home at night with host-families (drawn from staff/parent community). Our program may prepare dogs for immediate placement as emotional support animals with individuals in need and/or prepare dogs for future training with Guide Dogs for the Blind and/or similar programs.

Tour d’Oregon

A camping/bus tour of the wonderfully varied natural and human history of the state we live in, concentrating on the distant corners that are less known to Portland dwellers. We’ll appreciate classic highway engineering and coastal geology in the SW corner, Cascade geology and vegetation, basin and range landforms in the SE (with some hot spring soaking), erosional geology at Leslie Gulch, Oregon Trail History in Baker City, dredge gold mining technology in the Elkhorn mountains, Chinese immigrant history in Pendleton and John Day. Perhaps brief side forays to Coast Redwoods near Eureka and Lava Beds NM in California for Modoc history and lava tube geology.

Intensive Italian

Students will learn basic tourist vocabulary and phrases, and some basic grammar. Each day we will touch on one highlight of history, politics, opera, art, literature, or film. From the Caesars to Agrippina to Dante to Da Vinci to Michelangelo to Machiavelli to Galileo to Verdi to Garibaldi to Mussolini to Calvino, to Sophia Loren to Versace to Gianluigi Buffon to Berlusconi, we will learn about Italian culture from Rome up to the present day. We will eat Italian food (sometimes learn how to make it) and drink Italian coffee every day as we explore the language, regions and cultural highlights in this tour vorticoso of everything Italian! We will engage with guest speakers and field trips.

Finding Your Way with Clay

Create your own tableware to contribute to a more sustainable planet, and design work that reflects who you are. What can clay teach us about ourselves? This course provides an introduction to both hand-building and wheel-thrown techniques with clay. What makes a glaze and a claybody? Students will experiment with glazes, to create their own original design for their work. Students will look at traditional and contemporary types of work in clay and will experience both traditional stoneware and Raku firing processes.

Chemical Laboratory

This is a lab-based course that allows for longer laboratory work (2+ hours to several days) than possible in the regular semester-class. A variety of chemistry concepts will be learned and students will have opportunities to do projects related to chemistry and art (example: indigo dyeing) and chemical energy (batteries and fuel cells). Topics will draw from inorganic, organic, and applied chemistry and may include oxidation/reduction, acid/base, equilibrium, and organic synthesis. Students will experience open-ended experimental design and will also have the opportunity to analyze and refine experimental procedures to improve results. Prerequisite: completion Science II. Successful completion of this course can satisfy the prerequisite for Advanced Chemistry.

Intentional Design, Built Connections

How might we design objects with the intent of encouraging positive social interactions? We will answer this question by investigating the built environment and analyzing the social impacts (intended or not) of the objects that surround us. In particular, we will study the extent to which public spaces encourage positive social interaction and conversation as a bridge toward community building. Over the course of our time together, we will engage in various community-building and storytelling activities, observations of public spaces, and design exercises before reflecting and making our own interactive objects from repurposed materials for community benefit.

Applied Leadership in the Outdoors: Backpacking & Sea Kayaking the Washington Coast

Spend two weeks preparing for and executing an expeditionary outdoor trip. An “expedition” means that we will use human-powered modes of transportation to travel through the wilderness, carrying everything we need with us and sleeping in a new location each night. Learn how to plan an itinerary and menu, pack food and gear, work and make decisions as a team, prepare for spending extended time in the wilderness, navigate the backcountry, and explore your own leadership style. We will also practice backcountry cooking skills, campsite selection and set-up, and learn about Leave No Trace. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to learn and actively engage as a member of a small community. Successful completion of this course counts for one semester of PE.

Rock Climbing & Yoga

Students will explore different forms of yoga and mindfulness. This will include learning about the philosophical, cultural, and religious aspects of yoga, practicing pranayama (breath) and asana (physical postures), cultivating a personal practice based on MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction).The first five days will consist of morning asana practice, mid-day reading, writing, self-reflection and afternoon restorative yoga practice. This will include visiting yoga studios in Portland and experiencing different types of asana practice and talks on the history/philosophy of yoga. Two days will be focused on skills groups and applying mindfulness techniques to interpersonal communications and relationships. The experience will culminate in a four-day rock climbing trip to Smith Rock. Successful completion of this course counts for one semester of PE.

CG Players Immersive

Students will spend ten days of concentrated time auditioning, rehearsing and eventually performing a full-length theatrical production. This will include a deep dive into characterization, staging, and concept in addition to elements of costume and theatrical design. Depending on the script selected, we may also include music and choreography.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Students will take a DNA test to discover their ethnic heritage. After receiving the results, students will begin to map out the story of their family’s origin. Students will ask questions like: What is the origination story of my family? What surprised me? Am I related to anyone famous? Am I related to anyone in the class? How much DNA do I share with another person? Students will make a family tree based on their research and connect with close and distant relatives all over the world using online resources. In addition, we will watch episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? to gain a perspective of others’ genealogical journey. Prerequisite: Parental consent prior to enrollment. Read Ancestry.com’s privacy statement regarding its handling of DNA samples: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Transparency-Report.

Feature Writing and Photography

Have you ever wanted to take beautiful portraits? Have you ever wondered how your favorite sushi chef perfected her craft? Maybe you’re fascinated by tattoo art and want to learn more about excelling tattoo artists in our city? Students will photograph, interview and write publishable articles on a feature of an individual. We will begin by taking photographs and interviewing other students in an effort to hone our photography and writing skills. We will then “level up” to interview community members like Kit Camp, Mike Wilson or Bubba. The course will culminate in an interview and photography of an admired person in the greater Portland area. Students will create a full-length feature article worthy of publication (possibly in CatlinSpeak or our school’s magazine).

Please Note: Global Online Academy (GOA) electives do not count toward the 3-year Social Studies Requirement.

9/11 in a Global Context

September 11, 2001 was a tragic day that changed the world in profound ways. In this political science course, students explore the causes of 9/11, the events of the day itself, and its aftermath locally, nationally, and around the world. In place of a standard chronological framework, students instead view these events through a series of separate lenses. (Spring semester course)

Business Problem Solving

How could climate change disrupt your production and supply chains or impact your consumer markets? Will tariffs help or hurt your business? How embedded is social media in your marketing plan? Is your company vulnerable to cybercrime? What 21st century skills are you cultivating in your leadership team? Students in this course will tackle real-world problems facing businesses large and small in today’s fast changing global marketplace where radical reinvention is on the minds of many business leaders. Students will work collaboratively and independently on case studies, exploring business issues through varied lenses including operations, marketing, human capital, finance and risk management as well as sustainability. As they are introduced to the concepts and practices of business, students will identify, analyze and propose solutions to business problems, engaging in research of traditional and emerging industries, from established multinationals to startups. (Fall semester course)

Climate Change and Global Inequity

Nowhere is the face of global inequality more obvious than in climate change, where stories of climate-driven tragedies and the populations hit hardest by these disasters surface in every news cycle. In this course students will interrogate the causes and effects of climate change, and the public policy debates surrounding it. (Fall or Spring semester course)

Entrepreneurship in a Global Context

How does an entrepreneur think? What skills must entrepreneurs possess to remain competitive and relevant? What are some of the strategies that entrepreneurs apply to solve problems? In this experiential course students develop an understanding of entrepreneurship in today’s global market; employ innovation, design, and creative solutions for building a viable business model; and learn to develop, refine, and pitch a new start-up. Units include Business Model Canvas, Customer Development vs. Design Thinking, Value Proposition, Customer Segments, Iterations & Pivots, Brand Strategy & Channels, and Funding Sources. Students will use the Business Model Canvas as a roadmap to building and developing their own team start-up, a process that will require hypothesis testing, customer research conducted in hometown markets, product design, product iterations, and entrepreneur interviews. An online start-up pitch by the student team to an entrepreneurial advisory committee will be the culminating assessment. Additional student work will include research, journaling, interviews, peer collaboration, and a case study involving real world consulting work for a current business. (Spring semester course)

Gender & Society

This course uses the concept of gender to examine a range of topics and disciplines that might include: feminism, gay and lesbian studies, women’s studies, popular culture, and politics. (Spring semester course)

Genocide and Human Rights

Students in this course study several of the major genocides of the 20th century (Armenian, the Holocaust, Cambodian, and Rwandan), analyze the role of the international community in responding to and preventing further genocides (with particular attention to the Nuremberg tribunals), and examine current human rights crises around the world. Students read primary and secondary sources, participate in both synchronous and asynchronous discussions with classmates, write brief papers, read short novels, watch documentaries, and develop a human rights report card website about a nation in the world of their choice. (Spring semester course)

International Relations

Are China and the U.S. on a collision course for war? Can the Israelis and Palestinians find a two-state solution in holy land? Will North Korea launch a nuclear weapon? Can India and Pakistan share the subcontinent in peace? These questions dominate global headlines and our daily news feeds. In this course, you will go beyond the soundbites and menacing headlines to explore the context, causes, and consequences of the most pressing global issues of our time. Through case studies, you will explore the dynamics of international relations and the complex interplay of war and peace, conflict and cooperation, and security and human rights. Working with classmates from around the world, you will also identify and model ways to prevent, mediate, and resolve some of the most pressing global conflicts. (Fall or Spring semester course)

Introduction to Legal Thinking

Inspired by GOA’s popular Medical Problem Solving series, this course uses a case-based approach to give students a practical look into the professional lives of lawyers and legal thinking. By studying and debating a series of real legal cases, students will sharpen their ability to think like lawyers who research, write and speak persuasively. The course will focus on problems that lawyers encounter in daily practice, and on the rules of professional conduct case law. In addition to practicing writing legal briefs, advising fictional clients and preparing opening and closing statements for trial, students will approach such questions as the law and equity, the concept of justice, jurisprudence and legal ethics. (Fall or Spring semester course)

Introduction to Investments

Simulate the work of investors & employ the tools, theories & decision-making that define smart investment in this Online High School Investments Class. (Fall or Spring semester course)

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics is the study of economic units as a whole rather than of their individual components. The aggregate unit is usually a national economy and that will be our focus in this course. Students will learn to better understand how to measure national economic activity with concepts like gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation and the strengths and weaknesses of these statistics. Students will then study theoretical methods of influencing national economic activity with monetary and fiscal policy and will learn about some of the controversy surrounding these policy tools. The advantages and disadvantages of international trade and of methods of setting exchange rates will also be introduced. The course will include an individual student investigation of a national economy other than their home country. Students will identify their economic findings and present resolutions in their final report. (Spring semester course)

Microeconomics

In this introduction to microeconomics course, students learn about how consumers and producers interact to form a market and then how and why the government may intervene in that market. Students deepen their understanding of basic microeconomic theory through such methods as class discussion and debate, problem solving, written reflection, and hands-on experience. Students visit a local production site and write a report using the market principles they have learned. Economic ways of thinking about the world will help them better understand their roles as consumers and workers, and someday, as voters and producers. (Fall semester course)

Personal Finance

In this course, students learn financial responsibility and social consciousness. (Fall semester course)

Prisons and the Criminal Law

Criminal courts in the United States have engaged in an extraordinary social experiment over the last 40 years: they have more than quintupled America’s use of prisons and jails. Has this experiment with “mass incarceration” produced more bad effects than good? Is it possible at this point to reverse the experiment without doing even more harm? In this 14-week course, students become familiar with the legal rules and institutions that determine who goes to prison and for how long. Along the way, students gain a concrete, practical understanding of legal communication and reasoning while grappling with mass incarceration as a legal, ethical, and practical issue. In an effort to understand our current scheme of criminal punishments and to imagine potential changes in the system, we immerse ourselves in the different forms of rhetoric and persuasion that brought us to this place: we read and analyze the jury arguments, courtroom motions, news op-eds, and other forms of public persuasion that lawyers and judges create in real-world criminal cases. Topics include the history and social functions of prisons; the definition of conduct that society will punish as a crime; the work of prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges in criminal courts to resolve criminal charges through trials and plea bargains; the sentencing rules that determine what happens to people after a conviction; the alternatives to prison when selecting criminal punishments; and the advocacy strategies of groups hoping to change mass incarceration. The reading focuses on criminal justice in the United States, but the course materials also compare the levels of imprisonment used in justice systems around the world. Assignments will ask students to practice with legal reasoning and communication styles, focused on specialized audiences such as juries, trial judges, appellate judges, sentencing commissions, and legislatures. The work will involve legal research, written legal argumentation, peer collaboration, and oral advocacy. Note: This course is offered through Wake Forest University School of Law and is taught by Ronald Wright, the Needham Y. Gulley Professor of Criminal Law. Students who take this course should expect a college-level workload (8-10 hours a week). (Fall or Spring semester course)

Race & Society

What is race? Is it something we’re born with? Is it an idea that society imposes on us? An identity we perform? A privilege we benefit from? Does our own culture’s conception of race mirror those found in other parts of the world? These are just a few of the questions that students in this course will explore together as they approach the concept of race as a social construct that shapes and is shaped by societies and cultures in very real ways. Throughout the course students will learn about the changing relationship between race and society across time and across cultures. Engaging with readings, films, and speakers from a variety of academic fields (history, sociology, anthropology, literature) students will explore, research, reflect on and discuss the complex set of relationships governing race and society. (Fall semester course)