UNIV 0090. Meditation and the Brain: Applications in Basic and Clinical Science.

This course draws upon the multi-disciplinary expertise of four instructors to provide a detailed exploration of recent neuroscientific research on meditation combined with guided first-person experiential learning in various meditation practices. The course focuses on the cognitive, affective, and neurophysiological effects of meditation practices and their clinical applications in health, psychiatry and medicine.

We will identify persistent methodological challenges as well as the potential solutions for cutting-edge research that can emerge from an informed interdisciplinary perspective.

UNIV 0101. Being Proactive and Reflective in Your Education.

This half-credit course is designed for incoming students who are excited to reflect on and challenge their learning experiences while building necessary skills for effective classroom and life-long learning. Students will engage with one another through discussions and reflective activities in class, group activities such as a scavenger hunt, reflective journaling, and written assignments. The course will culminate with students collaborating on a scaffolded project that will examine how to rehumanize (Gutierrez, 2018) the classroom by focusing on how students and Brown instructors engage with material in relation to their identities and learning environments. Students will develop effective group working skills; identify and practice effective study strategies; identify approaches to and engage with challenging problems through an exploration of their learning experiences; and develop the skills to be leaders in building a reflective Brown community.

UNIV 0102. Bridge Scholars: Intercultural Competence for Leadership.

In this discussion course, students will reflect on their own skills, experiences, and identities in a supportive classroom community. Exploring the fundamentals of ‘intercultural competence,’ students will become ‘cultural detectives’ in learning about themselves, one another, and Brown as they embark upon their college careers. Together, we will explore how we can become leaders in our own lives and in our communities as we pursue academic excellence and school/life balance. Class activities will include individual reflection, small group discussion, scaffolded written assignments, and opportunities for creative expression. Note: the first four weeks of this course will be online and the last two weeks will happen in person on Brown’s campus in Providence. During the online portion of the course, we will have synchronous class meetings on Zoom and regular opportunities for students to ask questions.

UNIV 0123. Practical Introduction to Peer Advising.

A defining part of Brown’s Open Curriculum is the central role that students play in supporting the learning of their peers. In this class, you – in community with your classmates as potential future peer advisors – will learn best practices in inclusive advising pedagogy while exploring specific academic, co-curricular, professional, and social challenges, opportunities, and resources at Brown. Coursework includes self-reflection, peer-to-peer sharing, hands-on exercises, and theoretical readings that culminate in a group project exploring an advising area of interest and importance to you. Those who successfully complete the course will receive preference for funded peer advising positions within the College, including the Meiklejohn Peer Advising program. (Mandatory S/NC, Half-Credit Course restricted to semester levels 01 to 06.)

UNIV 0400. Beyond Narnia: The Literature of C.S. Lewis.

C.S. Lewis was one of the most widely read authors of the 20th Century, yet much of his philosophical, theological and political theories are unfamiliar. His fiction and philosophical writings will be explored to better understand his perspective on modern humanity, the relationship of man to family, the community and the state. C.S. Lewis had a very clear philosophy on the importance of the individual and how he relates to the larger social structures. Morality and the role of individuals as they interface with others around them and their responsibility for working with society both at community level and at the macro-state level will be explored.

UNIV 0456. Exploring Career Options.

It’s normal not to know what you want to do for the rest of your life, or even for the next few months. You’re definitely not the only one who doesn’t have it figured out yet. This course is designed to help you begin the process of identifying and reflecting on your skills, interests, values, and strengths to help you consider and explore internships, jobs, and career fields that might interest you. The course will also introduce you to internship and job search skills – resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile writing, networking, interviewing, and negotiating – as well as frameworks to help you approach career-related decision making. (Mandatory S/NC, Half-Credit Course restricted to undergraduate students in semester levels 03 or 04.)

UNIV 0550. The Politics of European Integration and Disintegration.

What began as a post-war organization of six states to regulate coal and steel industries has evolved over seven decades into a Union of 26 states to regulate an extensive range of political, economic, and social issues at the transnational level. Viewed from this perspective, the project of European integration has been a remarkable success story. The EU has been engulfed in a seemingly endless series of crises that have seriously threatened the functioning of its institutions and the future of the integration project. We will study the politics of European integration and disintegration through some of these crises - the Euro crisis, the rule of law crisis, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and most recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine – and their impact on the EU’s legal and political system.

UNIV 0700. Story and Sound: Introduction to Audio Journalism and Storytelling.

Storytelling and interviewing have long been tools in the social sciences. Their importance has grown as smart phones have put the ability to record sound and video into everyone’s hand. Nowhere is the egalitarian nature of storytelling more apparent now than in podcasting, a format that’s come to occupy a growing role among researchers and scholars. This course asks students to develop critical abilities to analyze and interpret works of audio journalism and podcasting, and create their own. Students learn the fundamentals of nonfiction storytelling and the specifics of audio and podcast production. They’ll learn about how audio fits into an ever-changing media landscape, and learn to think critically about what stories are told and why. Students learn the fundamentals of audio journalism, including finding and identifying stories, conducting interviews, writing for radio, editing, and sound design.

UNIV 0901. Learning Transfer: Integrating Sport, School, and Life.

The ultimate goal of education is to teach students course content and skills in the hopes that the learning and skills will transfer to other situations, helping students become better problem solvers and citizens in the real world. This course examines and scaffolds learning transfer in the context of sports into the classroom. In particular, we discuss learning through the pursuit of sports and athletic competition, and draw the analogs into effective learning practices for the classroom context. We will have particular emphasis on high performing teams, drawing analogs between athletic teams and study groups/group work in the classroom. This course also explicitly recognizes that students are often novices in learning and intentionally scaffolds the transfer process so students can detect, elect and connect learning across the two realms.

UNIV 1001. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Contested Narratives.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a central event in the history of the modern Middle East. We will compare the radically different narratives that Palestinians and Israelis tell themselves and others about their struggle over Palestine/Israel. Sources will include historical documents, memoirs, and accounts of the conflict by Israeli and Palestinian historians. We will read works of fiction and view films that present the story of the conflict from both perspectives. Attention will also be paid to efforts by Israelis and Palestinians to transcend their conflicting narratives and attain mutual understanding. All sources in English translation.

UNIV 1003. Jerusalem: Jews, Christians, Muslims.

In this course, we will examine how competing heritage narratives of the city of Jerusalem have been shaped by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim histories and beliefs, as well as by Israeli, Palestinian, and international views and interests. We will explore the impact of media portrayal, educational platforms, and archaeological explorations in the contexts of social, religious, and political debates from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. At the focus will be the question of the city’s indivisible heritage and boundaries that divide the city and its communities.

UNIV 1005. Narratives of Racism: Lynchings, Miscarriages of Justice, and Internment Camps in America.

In this course, we will study narrative accounts of 20th-century American incidents in which racism led to the persecution of members of minority groups by means of lynchings, miscarriages of justice, or the placement of people in internment camps: the unjustly conducted trial and lynching of the Jewish factory manager Leo Frank accused of murdering a young girl in Georgia; the kidnapping and murder of African American adolescent Emmett Till in Mississippi; and the internment of Japanese descendants during World War II out of fear that they would aid America's enemy.

UNIV 1110. The Theory and Teaching of Problem Solving.

What is a problem and how do you solve one? What relationship exists between problem-solving and teaching? This course is designed for STEM focused students (but it is open to all) who are teaching/will teach and are interested in improving their problem-solving and teaching. You will gain the skills that will aid you in your own learning, promote learning in others, improve communication and problem-solving capabilities, and prepare you to engage more deeply in diverse learning spaces. In the final weeks of the course you will apply concepts to a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project that focuses on improving/examining problem-solving and/or teaching in your field. S/NC

UNIV 1111. Systemic Racism and Modes of Resilience.

Over the past several years there has been much public discussion about systemic racism, and its role in perpetuating racial inequality. What is systemic racism? What role does it play in society and how have African Americans responded to it? This course will use the lens of “systemic racism” to explore the interconnections between policies and practices that create a network of devastating forms of racial discrimination and disadvantage; conditions that have shifted over time and have made it difficult for black communities, and individuals within them, to flourish. And yet, systemic racism does not have the final word. We will also consider how African-American communities have developed various modes of resilience in cultural, spiritual/religious, artistic, and other facets of life.

UNIV 1210. Practical Experience in the Clinical Environment.

This course will meet once a week on campus at the beginning of the semester to ensure you are prepared for your clinical shadowing experience. Our class time will focus on professionalism, the realities of practicing modern medicine, and your reflections on your shadowing experiences with the goal of a better understanding of your personal fit for a career in medicine. You will also shadow a physician or other healthcare professional at least four times throughout the semester at their home clinical site. Interested students can apply by filling out the application in the Class Notes below. The application is required for this course to ensure that students meet the requirements for shadowing and do not have significant prior shadowing experience.

UNIV 1211. Brown Experiential Learning Practicum.

This course is an optional 1-credit seminar for students participating in an off-campus semester internship. The course is centered around a 10-hour/week internship, which provides an immersive experiential learning opportunity. Seminar sessions, workshops, and reading and writing assignments enable students to reflect on their internship experiences, contextualize their work and organization within the broader environments, and develop academic and professional skills. (Mandatory S/NC; Instructor approval required.

UNIV 1221. Brown Experiential Learning Practicum.

This course is a required 2-credit seminar for students participating in an off-campus semester internship. The course is centered around a 20-hour/week internship, which provides an immersive experiential learning opportunity. Seminar sessions, workshops, reading and writing assignments enable students to reflect on their internship experiences, contextualize their work and organization within the broader environments, and develop academic and professional skills. (Mandatory S/NC; Instructor approval required)

UNIV 1801. Brown in Washington, D.C. Practicum.

This course is a required 2-credit course for students participating in the Brown in Washington, D.C. program. The course is centered around a challenging 30-hour/week internship in a public-sector or not-for-profit organization in Washington, D.C., which provides an immersive experiential learning opportunity at an organization or agency involved in the public policy process. Seminar sessions, workshops, field trips, and reading and writing assignments enable students to reflect on their internship experiences, contextualize their work and organization within the broader DC policy environment, and develop academic and professional skills

UNIV 1981. Diasporic Healthcare and the Creolization of Health and Medicine: Cabo Verde and the United States.

This course aims to critically investigate the health status of Cabo Verde and its diasporic immigrants. This course is an introduction to the global burden of disease and the social determinants of health, which prove to be vitally relevant to our current understanding of healthcare and equity. Further, contextualizing contemporary health issues such as health inequity and inaccessibility with historical inquiry is important to further improve current systems of health care and management. The goal of this course is to define diasporic healthcare, navigate the complexities of Cabo Verdean creolization, and understand the interactions history, heritage, and health have with one another. The class will take a mandatory GELT-funded trip to Praia, Cabo Verde. More information on this trip can be found in the syllabus.