This course explores the relationship between engineering, law, and the state, to develop an understanding, on the one hand, of the mechanisms by which technology affects political processes and, on the other hand, how political processes regulate technological designs.
This course uses engineering principles as a lens to introduce and discuss foundational concepts from political philosophy, jurisprudence (legal theory), positive political theory, and economics. In so doing, it brings engineering disciplines into dialogue with the humanities and social sciences, facilitating dialogue between students from across those disciplines.
This course is not open to JD and LLM candidates.
Spring 2026
African Contemporary Music: North, South, East, and West. Come to know contemporary Africa through the sounds of its music: from South African kwela, jazz, marabi, and kwaito to Zimbabwean chimurenga; Central African soukous and pygmy pop; West African Fuji, and North African rai and hophop.
Spring 2026
This course seeks to understand contemporary political divisions in the United States. Guiding our analysis will be scholarship from the discipline of political science, with particular attention given to political culture, American political development and federalism while incorporating scholarship from several other disciplines.