Explore Philadelphia! It’s a city of neighborhoods, each one distinct in its own way. In this course we will visit local areas, focusing our attention on the buildings and amenities that enhance urban life.
We will observe the role of public spaces in cities – streets, boulevards, parks and squares – and consider their social uses. Following the flaneur tradition of Baudelaire and Benjamin, we will walk the city to experience and understand the myriad environments that comprise it.
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.