This course examines how emotions shape and are shaped by political life. From fear and anger to hope and joy, emotions influence how individuals and societies understand justice, power, and identity. The course invites students to explore major theories of emotion and differing understandings of the relationship between passion and reason, considering how emotional life intersects with political judgment and collective action.
Through historical and contemporary perspectives, students analyze how emotions are mobilized to sustain or contest political regimes, inspire social movements, and construct social hierarchies. The course questions both the marginalization and the overstatement of affect’s role in politics, while reflecting on its creative dimensions within the conflicts that animate democratic life.
Spring 2026
Faith, belief, spirituality and religious identity are central to the lives of so many people, and so building understanding about these aspects of life – encompassing the development of our personal convictions as well as our connections to (or challenges with) institutional religion and spiritual community – is essential to understanding our world. But conversations on these topics can be complicated, confusing, even contentious. The Interfaith Dialogue in Action course makes space for students of all religious and non-religious backgrounds to engage with one another, reflect together, and learn skills to build dialogue between people with different faith traditions, worldviews, practices, and beliefs.
Spring 2026
The phrase “failure to communicate” became iconic in American English from the 1967 film “Cool Hand Luke,” in which Paul Newman played a convict who refuses to listen or follow orders. The film raised questions about the multiple ways we understand “failure to communicate” and its consequences. Is it sometimes a decision to resist a presumption, a premise, an interpretation, an argument, a directive from authority? Is it at other times simply a mechanical failure? This course examines “failure to communicate” in multiple cultural areas, among them literature, romance, politics, show business, law, science, war, psychology, philosophy, business, religion, humor and education.