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• How they can create third spaces through community gardening,
• How to have control over the nutrient density of your food,
• How to reduce waste through composting,
• How to increase physical activity through gardening maintenance,
• How to improve mental health and promote relaxation, and
• How to promote community wellness through education.

In this experiential learning class, they will gain the tools to contribute to a stronger community food system, connect with others through community gardening, and their required 75 hours of community service.

What is Ecopoetry? The poet John Shoptaw defines an 鈥渆copoem鈥� as a poem that is both environmental and environmentalist. The former criterion has to do with content. Ecopoetry has for its subject some element of the natural world 鈥� whitebark pine, Steller鈥檚 jay, but also the ordinary black bug on your windowsill, the palm frond blowing across the Wendy鈥檚 parking lot. In this respect, ecopoetry overlaps with nature poetry. However, Shoptaw鈥檚 second criterion pushes beyond mere nature poetry by insisting that the ecopoem take an 鈥渆nvironmentalist鈥� orientation to the natural world. We鈥檒l examine both criteria in this course. First, we鈥檒l look deeper at nature poetry, paying attention to the work of diverse poets over the past century. How might writers of color, for example, complicate our views of nature poetry? What instances of proto-environmentalism might we find in nature poetry of the past? How does contemporary nature poetry seek to re-envision or recreate our relationship to environment? Second, we鈥檒l ask ourselves what does it mean for a poem to be 鈥渆nvironmentalist?鈥� How might poetry respond to the environmental crises of our time?

Students will use their understanding of ecopoetry, gleaned through careful analysis, to write their own ecopoems. We will study the genre of poetry, learning craft techniques from the poetic line to image to metaphor. We鈥檒l use this study for our own creative practice, completing a series of ecopoems that will be collected in a final portfolio and selected for a class anthology of ecopoetry.

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Holocaust survivor, and prolific writer, the late Elie Wiesel once said, 鈥淲hoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty.鈥�

We all have stories worth telling, but crafting those stories into words that truly resonate, is an art. Even the most celebrated/celebrity authors have relied on 鈥済hosts鈥� to help shape their narratives by drawing out the most intimate details and weaving them into works that captivate readers in today鈥檚 multibillion-dollar book industry.

In this immersive, hands-on course, you鈥檒l embark on the journey of storytelling from the ground up: identifying the story you want to tell, developing a 鈥渂lueprint鈥� for your interview, building your outline, which will ultimately shape the framework of your manuscript or storyline - whether it becomes a book, audiobook, editorial, blog post, or short story. You鈥檒l gain in-person, insider perspectives from professionals including (but not limited to) ghostwriter and former President Bill Clinton鈥檚 personal diarist, as well as NBA legend Allen Iverson鈥檚 personal manager and mentor, who will share what it was like to bring his story to life, with the help of ghostwriter.

We鈥檒l also explore the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the creative, editing and publishing spaces and you鈥檒l have the rare opportunity to pitch your final project to a real literary agent. Finally, you鈥檒l step into a recording studio, guided by audiobook professionals, to create an optional audio sample of your work. Whether your passion is writing, ghostwriting, or storytelling, this course will give you the skills and confidence to share your literary work with the world.

What does it mean to really listen to music? This course is all about reshaping the way we hear鈥攎oving from background listening to a deeper, more active experience. Together, we鈥檒l explore how music grabs our attention, stirs emotion, and even challenges us when it feels strange or unfamiliar. You鈥檒l get the chance to dive into new sound worlds鈥攍ike experimental classical, free jazz, and electronic music鈥攁s well as reflect on how you listen to the music you already love. We鈥檒l experiment with different approaches: listening without judgment, noticing our assumptions, and practicing presence in live and recorded settings.

By the end of the course you鈥檒l not only develop sharper listening skills but also expand your musical horizons. You may even find yourself enjoying music you once thought was 鈥渢oo weird鈥� or simply 鈥渘ot for you.鈥� Think of it as training your ears and mind to discover unexpected connections, fresh perspectives, and deeper appreciation for sound in all its forms.

This is a course that provides students with an introduction to the field of Applied Linguistics. The goals of the course are to offer students a global perspective on language use in addition to a local perspective regarding how language functions in their own personal lives. The course consists of two main parts. Part I provides students with an overview of basic concepts and theories that are critical to understanding how additional languages are learned. In Part I, students also put these principles into practice and reflect on them through a multi-week project that enables students to learn an additional language of their choice. Then, in Part II of the course, students explore language in use by completing a project that allows them to investigate how language is used in a specific area or discipline that is of interest to them (e.g., language in business, engineering, medicine, psychology, or another context).

A writing- and discussion-based course, this class examines autoethnography as a powerful method of storytelling and meaning-making from the margins. Rooted in the belief that personal experience is a legitimate and transformative form of knowledge, autoethnography allows writers to connect individual stories to larger social, political, and historical forces. Students will explore how lived experience becomes theory by engaging with first-person narratives, cultural memory, and storytelling across diverse communities. Together, we will consider how marginalized voices use story to challenge dominant narratives, reclaim voice, and imagine new possibilities for belonging and connection.

The course invites students on a journey of self-discovery as they experiment with writing fragments, memory work, and cultural reflection. Through collaborative discussions and readings, students will learn how personal narratives illuminate broader social structures while also opening space for meaning, healing, and imagination. The semester culminates in students creating their own autoethnographic projects鈥攗nique stories that reflect their identities, experiences, and critical engagement with the world around them. By the end, students will leave with a deeper understanding of how their voices matter, and how storytelling can be a powerful tool for connection and transformation.

Three decades since its original publication, Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club continues to attract new readers and media attention. In addition to its film adaptation, Palahniuk has more recently released two sequels as graphic novels (Fight Club 2 and Fight Club 3), as well as a prequel short story and vast interview commentary. In this class, we consume all of the Fight Club universe's source material, along with Palahniuk's related interviews and the academic articles of selected commentators on the book. We focus on how Palahniuk articulates a perceived lack of purpose and meaning in modern constructions of masculinity, and the dark and dangerous paths this lack opens up. Classes consist of seminar-style close readings and discussions of primary sources. There is little to no classical lecturing. Evaluation methods are almost entirely writing and participation, with no tests. Students should be prepared for disturbing material that is frequently offensive.

In this course, students will create socially conscious stop-motion animation artwork. Students will explore textural imagery and conceptual animation filmmaking by developing their creative research projects. Projects will examine community issues while incorporating multiple perspectives into production decisions when creating a meaningful and reflective stop-motion animation film. Students will collectively explore the cultural value, story, and emotional meaning of objects, materials, elements, and sounds to evoke emotions and meaning in the viewer by creating socially conscious stop-motion animation artwork. Emphasis is on animation film language, experimental stop-motion animation techniques, concept development, and narrative structures as well as all the production stages (pre-production, production, post-production) and technical aspects required to produce a stop-motion animation film. This course does not require previous animation knowledge or experience.

In this class, students will learn how to produce a short movie that reflects their understanding of current events and their response to them through the creation of a fictional narrative. They will become creators of images and sounds that capture their subjective interpretation of problems that local communities are facing today. This class will focus on concept development, image, and sound composition, research, storyboarding, film language, and construction of meaning through the creation of multiple visual layers and sounds during filming and editing as well as all technical aspects (camera, lighting, sound, editing software) required to produce a creative video.

Students will collectively explore the aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of images and sound to evoke emotions and meanings in the viewer. Students will research human-social problems (violence, guns, education, poverty, climate change, addictions, communication, health, Covid 19, etc.) affecting communities today and develop a video piece that will question at the same time the audience and their systems of beliefs. Students will develop their capacity to recognize how we create understanding through the production of a video step by step, and how creative and fictional work can address their current social and cultural concerns. This course does not require previous film/art knowledge or experience. You will use a DLSR camera. If the students do not have access to a DLSR, they will use their smartphone cameras.

Liminality, also known as a transitional space or a space between, is nearly an obsession of the plays of Shakespeare. This concept reflects the time in which he lived and his own personal experience. We will explore many of these liminal experiences through Shakespeare's plays: between royal and citizen, superstition and science, Catholic and Protestant, male and female, rural and urban, et cetera. We will examine Shakespeare's dramatic influence on history and culture along with the political, social, and cultural forces most influential to his own work. We will read, discuss, and perform several of the works of Shakespeare. Our discussions will range in topics from the performance of his plays and poetry, to the history of their performance, their political relevance and importance, the philosophical and political movements and events that influenced his works and reception, the political and philosophical movements that were influenced by his works, and more.

This course surveys the evolution electronic of music within the context of historical events and modern society. Students will develop the skills necessary to appreciate and critically evaluate music from around the world. More specifically, we will explore how in the early 20th century, composers began redefining the concept of instruments and organized sound, in turn redefining music, with modernism, futurism and postmodernism, ultimately leading music into a new era. We will dive headfirst into Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and its collection of sub genres such as House, Drum n Bass, Dubstep, Trap, and Hard-style.

The "10,000-Hour Rule" is a scientific theory that says one needs 10,000 hours of experience with their skill to perfect their craft to be considered an expert. This rule and the importance of practice is a factor in most examples of how creatives become experts at their craft. This course will focus on the power of passion, perseverance, self-exploration, discovery and how setting goals in conjunction with organization can lead to a fruitful life and career. At the heart of this course are cutting-edge scientific discoveries about how to foster passion and perseverance for long-term goals. We will focus on the scientific work of Angela Duckworth and author Malcolm Gladwell's observations on why successful people are successful.

In this discussion-based course, we will examine what it means to read with care and attention in an era when artificial intelligence and digital media shape how we consume information. Through close engagement with fiction, we will practice deep reading as a way of cultivating empathy, sharpening critical thinking, and strengthening our ability to communicate thoughtfully. Together, we will consider how stories illuminate the complexity of human experience and why they matter in a world increasingly mediated by algorithms and AI-generated text.

A central aim of the course is to rediscover the art of reading at a time when quick skimming and surface-level engagement dominate. Students will immerse themselves in a range of fictional narratives, learning to connect stories to their own lives while reflecting on the broader cultural significance of reading in the digital age.

Over the semester, students will submit two 5-page response papers, each offering personal reflection and analysis of works discussed in class. These assignments will provide opportunities to practice deep interpretation and to explore the value of human insight in contrast to machine-driven processing of text.

Shakespeare observed that "all the world's a stage." Have you considered how we embody and put into action, how we perform our various ideologies, identities, and cultures? This course focuses on our individual and collective performances in the secular, sacred, and quotidian realms. Drawing from performance studies, communication theory, anthropology, sociology, and other fields, this course invites students to view all human interaction as a kind of performance and to consider their varying significances. What happens when the taken for granted becomes our focus? In this course, performances will serve as both objects of study and methods of inquiry to illuminate what we consider to be the everyday.

The view of life as theater is an ancient and enduring metaphor for human reality. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the perspective of life as theater and in performance-centered approaches to communication and culture. This course will draw attention to the relationship between everyday life and traditional aesthetic performance. We will explore how communication in everyday life may be understood using performance as a metaphor and method of study. We will also look at how aesthetic performances are informed by everyday experiences. We will discuss culture as a continuous performance, from the ordinary speech of an individual to the elaborate practices of groups and organizations. We will seek to uncover how our various performances鈥攖raditional, everyday, sacred, and secular鈥攃onstruct and maintain culture.

鈥淵ou can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach; because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.鈥� -Frederick Buechner, Author and Theologian

Cartography is the study and practice of map-making, and Narrative Cartography invites students to map the stories of their lives. Through reading, writing, and multilayered forms of journeying, students will tell stories that matter to them, from the mundane to the profound. This practice-oriented course leverages written narrative to visit personal places seldom explored such as the meaning in and of our names; how and why we hold the political values that we do; the stories that our bodies tell; death, dying, and remembrance; our personal foodways; and what it means to celebrate our failures, among other concerns. At its most expansive, this course is a foray into our shared humanity and recognition of the universal in the particular.

This course studies texts and films that interrogate the human condition through the representation of possible futures. We will read short stories (Borges, Bradbury, Suzuki), novels (Orwell, Bioy Casares, Atwood) and a play (RUR), and we will also watch films and TV (2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Sleep Dealer, Interstellar; Twilight Zone; Black Mirror) to understand the ways in which fiction and film have dealt with the anxiety of progress. Possible topics for the class include: the discourses of globalization; immigration and labor relations; the body and technology; real and virtual identities; time travel and memory; gender and race in a 鈥減ossible futures鈥� scenario. At the end of this course, students will be able to (1) recognize important texts and films and understand why they are relevant in their representation of possible futures; (2) express analytically (in oral and written form) their ideas about the material and (3) identify and explain the main characteristics of these texts and films and analyze how do they relate to each other and to a particular cultural context.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to escape the alarming and dystopian news, media, and narratives that the Earth is being destroyed and the world is ending. These messages can, understandably, lead to feelings of anxiety and helplessness in the face of problems outside of our control. But what if I told you there was an alternative, or dare I say punk, way to view the climate change problem we have found ourselves in? For a message rooted in care for each other, the other, and the planet, and imagining a more sustainable future--join us as we explore the radically hopeful world of Solarpunk. In this seminar style course, we will experience the power of art while we read, watch, create, and enjoy Solarpunk media to reveal the stories of nature, community, and empathy we need to save the world.

With rising sea levels and global temperatures climbing, our earth is in need of immediate regenerative action. This studio art course will propose various forms of restorative design and art activism to address climate change, threatened ecosystems and the environment. Utilizing design, fine art, and other creative modes of expressive solutions, we will research potential calls for creative action, whether via art activism and awareness or design implementation and fieldwork. This class does not require previous art experience and various mediums will be open for exploration. Through community partnerships, we will investigate opportunities for impact design with a focus on local oyster restoration via 3D printing ceramic habitat bricks, and the process of designing and implementing mural projects in collaboration with community partners. Our oyster brick restoration project is done in collaboration with Dr. William Ellis from the Marine Biology at USFSP and will involve research, partnerships, and field work, which is currently funded by the Tampa Bay Estuary Fund. Our mural partners vary by semester, but in the past have been sites such as the USF Botanical Gardens, the Seafarers clinic at the Tampa Port, and more. With opportunities to ideate and develop design proposals with the environment in mind, we will collaborate with community researchers and organizations to take creative action for a cleaner tomorrow and bring awareness to sustainability.

Curatorial Practices frames curation as a professional, community-facing practice. Students learn to plan and present exhibitions with conceptual rigor, precise writing, coherent visual systems, and effective logistics. Using the Judy Genshaft Honors College art selections as a case study, the course analyzes how curatorial choices, display standards, and communication influence public trust and shared understanding. Supported by arts-in-health concepts, we aim to demonstrate that museum and gallery experiences can help reduce stress, foster a sense of belonging, and support individual well-being.

Students produce professional materials鈥攕uch as curatorial briefs, floor plans, mock-ups, title cards, press releases and basic budgets/timelines, and artwork鈥攚hile cultivating community partnerships. Work proceeds in role-based teams (curation, operations, communications, production, etc.) with shared timelines, checklists, and structured peer review to mirror field standards. Site visits and meetings with local galleries and museums support stakeholder mapping, public outreach, and feedback practices that strengthen community cohesion and broaden participation. The semester culminates in a client-ready proposal for an on-campus project in the JGHC atrium that is visually disciplined, accessible, and civically engaged.

Comics and graphic novels are one of the most popular forms of storytelling today. Their mixture of art and writing can transport readers to visually fascinating worlds and make intimate connections to a wide range of characters from superheroes to alien creatures. Comics are also an invaluable way to speak about our real world, giving us insights into the lives of others. In Art & The Refugee Experience, we will be looking at comics about asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants to better understand these ongoing world crises.

This course is broken down into two major focuses, the first being research-based writing about the refugee experience. As a class, we will read comics such as "Safe Area Gorazde" by Joes Sacco and "Rolling Blackouts" by Sarah Glidden in order to develop complex ideas and responses about these pressing issues. What does the refugee journey across the Mediterranean look like? What is the daily experience of living in a refugee camp? We will work together to answer questions like these and brainstorm possible solutions. Second, we will learn the artistic skills and techniques that comic creators use to tell their stories, with the ultimate goal of each student making their own short comic! Don't worry, no prior art skills are necessary, and you will not be graded on your artistic proficiency. As we work to create our own comics, we will investigate how images and visuals can capture aspects of our lives that otherwise might have been missed. Finally, this course will include interviews with artists, guest lectures from journalists, and discussions with writers who have first had experience working with refugees. There will also be out-of-class opportunities to engage with USF's Contemporary Art Museum.

In the mid-nineteenth century, American women's colleges opened their doors, and fictional depictions of these green spaces of sports, girl crushes, late-night meals, and (sometimes) learning soon followed. These novels explore how school serves to socialize the heroine into the feminine ideal. As society questions the appropriateness of higher education for women, the novels quickly move from showing the opportunities college offers ambitious girls to assuring readers that college prepares girls for the domestic sphere.  

In this class, students will uncover the societal implications of the representation in American girls鈥� college stories by reading novels from the time period, 1870-1920 (all of which can be read online for free). Students will take turns leading class discussion with a short presentation. They will also conduct original research by exploring the archives at USF Special Collections to locate and analyze a school-centered book from this period. We will explore the historical context of girls鈥� education and women鈥檚 colleges, as well as replicate some of their dorm-room recipes. The final project of the class will ask students to consider how this framework impacts today's modern YA novels in a poster that can be submitted the USF Undergraduate Humanities Conference.

Physics is the science of matter, energy, motion, and forces鈥攖he very essence of the world around us. It鈥檚 not just about equations and theories; it鈥檚 about understanding the fascinating phenomena that shape our everyday lives. In this exciting new course, we will explore one intriguing question every week. Some questions will be simple, others more challenging鈥攂ut all of them will spark curiosity and inspire discovery.

Have you ever wondered...

• What helps a unicyclist keep their balance?
• Why seatbelts and airbags are lifesaving in car accidents?
• Why the pitch of an ambulance siren changes as it zooms by?
• Why we feel weightless on rides like the 鈥淭ower of Terror?鈥�
• Why sunsets are red?
• Why walking on ice feels so tricky?
• How vision correction works or why mixing cyan and yellow paint makes green?
• If it鈥檚 possible to make things levitate or walk on water?
• What creates rainbows or how CT scans and MRIs work to reveal the inner workings of our bodies?
• How something as seemingly dangerous as radioactivity finds essential applications in medicine?
• Why everything鈥攆rom machines to our own bodies鈥攏eeds regular maintenance?

This course is designed to make physics relatable, exciting, and fun. There are no prerequisites in math or physics鈥攚e will learn and grow together as we delve into these fascinating questions and more. Join us for a journey of discovery where the wonders of physics meet the marvels of everyday life. Let鈥檚 uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary!

We won't actually be climbing mountains, unless you participate in the optional field trip where we will climb some small volcanoes.  Instead, we will see how mountains are built along with discussing other geological processes occurring in varied landscapes as we journey through many of the National Parks across the country. Take an adventure with me to discover how these landscapes formed and how they've changed through geologic time, why some house explosive volcanoes and why others provide tranquil scenery. We'll discuss the basics of Geology and how they apply to park landscapes. It is said that the National Parks are America's greatest idea. During our travels through the parks, we'll contemplate the controversy and dilemma their very existence presents and learn some practical life lessons along the way.

The optional field trip is offered so that you can experience some of the parks first hand. Come climb with me, and I think you will agree that setting these lands aside for all people and for future generations truly is America's greatest idea.

In this course, we will journey into the complex world of pharmacology and society's relationship with frequently abused prescription drugs. We will uncover the multifaceted layers of drug use, misuse, and abuse, examining not only the pharmacological aspects but also the societal, cultural, and ethical dimensions. We'll navigate through historical contexts, dissecting how these substances have woven themselves into the fabric of human existence.

The course will provoke thought in practical wisdom as we investigate the notion of "appropriate" drug use of abused substances, including opioids, sedatives, and other frequently prescribed medications. What factors contribute to the perception of a drug as either beneficial or harmful? How do socioeconomic disparities influence patterns of drug abuse? These questions and more will fuel our curiosity, provide rich topics for discussion, and lead us to critical analysis. In addition to our explorations, students will engage in hands-on analysis through graded assessments, including group projects, their contribution to thoughtful discussions, and a research paper that delves into the complexity of pharmacological dynamics and societal impacts.

You may think the answer to the question what is the environment is simple, but this seminar style course will critically explore the way the social construction of the environment has changed through history and how our conception of what the environment is affects how we treat it and what we determine is acceptable. In this course, we will take a global and local perspective on how the environment is perceived around the world, what we are doing about solving the many environmental problems globally, and how a shift in perspective can spark change.

Fundamental sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology are used in water management, building construction, and municipal permitting. Assignments in this course are in service to a community partner whose mission is to make the local Tampa Bay region a better place to live, work, and play. In this course, we will incorporate principles of the natural sciences in service to a community partner by conducting discovery activities to understand their needs, leveraging scholarly research to inform our suggestions, all of which will be presented to mentors from USF鈥檚 Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation. A final cumulative proposal will be delivered to the community partner for their use in advancing their mission.

You will serve on a consultant team of peers to develop a comprehensive proposal for adoption by a local community organization using principles from the natural sciences including physics, chemistry, and biology. Experts from USF鈥檚 Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation (IADI) will join our course at key points to provide insight and mentorship from their experiences in the world of health and institutions. You will be assigned work geared to support the mission of a non-profit organization in the local Tampa Bay region that includes understanding their challenges, building a network of support on their behalf, and navigating complex problems. With mentorship from IADI faculty, you will develop a substantive proposal on behalf of a non-profit as well as present your progress throughout. The community partner will join throughout the semester to provide context for their needs and direction during the development of the proposal.

This interdisciplinary course will combine the newest understandings of evolutionary biology, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy to synthesize novel discussions around the neurobiology of free will. From questions of grit and self-discipline to mental illness and self-destructive patterns, we will explore the current science surrounding the idea that we are the deciders of our own fates, willfully and thoughtfully in control of our own thoughts and behaviors.

What happens to animal behavior when humans change the world?  In this seminar-style course, we鈥檒l start to answer this question by discussing chapters of the new book, Behavioral Responses to a Changing World.  In the first section of this book, world-class researchers studying all kinds of animals address how climate change, light and noise pollution, habitat loss and fragmentation, urbanization, and all sorts of other anthropogenic effects are influencing wildlife.  In the latter half, scientists cover all sorts of promising and effective ways to mitigate these effects from translocations, to directed evolution, to the facilitation of adaptive plasticity.  For the final project, students will produce in pairs a podcast episode on a topic of their choosing but one that matches material covered in the course.

Politics is a term we frequently hear in everyday life, yet its meaning varies widely. Some describe it as a craft or skill, while others see it as strategy, intelligence, or even selfish ambition. But what truly defines politics? How does it differ from political science? And why is understanding politics essential to making sense of the world around us? 

This course explores the essence of politics and political science, examining their distinctions and significance. Students will analyze how human nature 鈥� driven by the pursuit of power, prosperity, and self-interest 鈥� has shaped political systems throughout history. While political advancement has contributed to societal progress, it has also come at a heavy cost, leading to conflicts and wars that have claimed countless innocent lives. Through historical case studies, students will critically engage with key political events and ideas, gaining a deeper understanding of how politics functions, its impact on societies, and the role of political science in decoding the complexities of governance and power.

What exactly is a healthy lifestyle, and how does it influence our life course and aging? Life involves numerous environmental elements and impacts us biologically, psychologically, and socioculturally. While we may know what constitutes a healthy versus an unhealthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging in everyday life, and the consequences of not doing so vary across individuals. A healthy lifestyle is multifaceted, and the choices we make each day directly or indirectly affect our physical, emotional, and social well-being. Furthermore, individual differences shape how these consequences manifest across people.

In this course, students explore what constitutes a healthy lifestyle鈥攕uch as balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, sufficient sleep, stress management, mental well-being, and social connections鈥攁nd how these factors shape human development across the stages of aging and contribute to a meaningful quality of life. Students examine key theories and frameworks, including the biopsychosocial model, social determinations of health, activity theory, continuity theory, and insights from aging studies, to understand how lifestyle choices and environment influence well-being at different stages of life.

Students apply their learning through research projects and class discussions by analyzing lifestyle strategies, evaluating evidence, and proposing practical approaches to enhance personal and community health. Through these discussions, students examine how informed lifestyle decisions contribute not only to their own quality of life but also to civic participation and global sustainability, emphasizing shared responsibility for the health of communities. By the end of the course, students will develop analytical, application, and social responsibility skills, enabling them to make informed lifestyle decisions and contribute to public health.

The influence of sports on world politics is a compelling subject that reveals how athletic events and figures can transcend national boundaries and impact global diplomatic landscapes. From the Cold War-era Olympic Games to the politically charged 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2024 Olympics, sports have often served as a platform for political statements and conflicts. The 1980 and 1984 Olympic boycotts, for instance, highlighted how international sporting events can become arenas for ideological confrontations between superpowers. Similarly, the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, which symbolized the end of apartheid, or Magic Johnson revealing his HIV diagnosis demonstrated how sports can play a pivotal role in national reconciliation and global perceptions of political progress.

Moreover, sports diplomacy has become an increasingly significant tool in international relations, where nations use athletic events to foster goodwill and forge strategic alliances. The "ping-pong diplomacy" of the 1970s, which led to improved relations between the United States and China, exemplifies how sports can facilitate diplomatic breakthroughs. As global mega-events like the Olympics and the World Cup continue to grow in prominence, they offer both opportunities and challenges for nations to navigate their political interests on a world stage.

This course will explore these dynamic interactions between sports and politics, examining case studies and theories to understand how athletic achievements and controversies influence global political strategies and international relations.

Why do some groups of people suffer from some diseases while other populations do not? Why are some diseases associated with poverty and others with affluence? Illnesses are not just a matter of pathogens, but also have social, economic, and political causes leading to disparate health experiences and outcomes. This course introduces students to the general principles and foundations of global health. It focuses on the study of health issues and concerns that transcend national borders, class, and culture to impact the potential for healthy humanity. This class will explore current and historical health issues that face populations around the world. The course will explore health disparities while discussing concrete and culturally sensitive approaches to improving global health. It introduces students to the social and behavioral sciences through cultural and sociopolitical inquiry and aims to cultivate ethical ideas and practices pertaining to civic engagement, dimensions of human experience, and the complexity of social interaction.

鈥淐ommunism," "Fascism," "Socialism," "Nationalism," "Patriotism," "Democracy," and "Capitalism" are terms that are bandied about with some abandon. Everyone seems to have a vague notion of what they mean, but we often use them in incoherent and even contradictory ways. These concepts and terms become increasingly important during election cycles that seem to be lasting longer and becoming more polarizing and vitriolic. In this course, we will attempt to come to grips with some of the most important "isms" of contemporary politics by examining both their theoretical, historical, and cultural foundations, but also how they have evolved and changed in different social, political, and economic environments.

When asked about the future of Black Americans and the future of America, James Baldwin remarked that the two were "insoluble". White Americans, Baldwin argued, would largely determine the country's future to the extent that they could confront the historical and existential origins of American distinctions between Black and white. Failing this task would inevitably lead to "a breaking point" in which the country's race relations would erupt into violence. America's only options for sustainable futures all required a searching, honest appraisal of the relationship between Black and white identities, identities Baldwin saw as interdependent.

This course investigates Baldwin's comments surrounding what it means to be Black and white in America. We sift through Baldwin's letters, essays, and interviews to draw out his positions on the phenomenology of racial identity. Additionally, the course examines Baldwin's commitment to optimism and criticisms of pessimism, his views on gay and straight identities, and his relationships with other intellectuals and activists of the civil rights era. We also compare Baldwin's views with studies from history and the social sciences on the origins and development of Western racial distinctions. The course's approach strongly resembles courses in the history of philosophy. Classes consist of seminar-style close readings and discussions of primary sources. There is little to no classical lecturing. Evaluation methods are almost entirely writing and participation, with no tests.

What is disability? Have you ever wondered how you developed your understanding of it? By examining the way popular media portrays disability and disabled people, this course will shed light on how society treats and communicates about disability.

In this course, we will examine the way culture influences us through a variety of mediums, including shows, music, stories, and even video games. These examples, supported by themes presented in scholarly and everyday life, will help us reflect on our own perception of disability. We鈥檒l unpack the role that technology plays in this process, as well as its capacity to both enhance and detract from a productive/healthy discussion about the topic.

Social Movements have long been considered a major driver of political, social, economic, or cultural change. In the US, from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party, the Occupy Wall Street Movement or BlackLivesMatter, social mobilizations have been central in shaping society. Recently, social movements have also 鈥済one global.鈥� From the anti-World Trade Organization protests in Seattle to the Arab Spring, anti-austerity protests, or Occupy Wall Street, social movements have been important actors on the world stage.

This Social Movements class has three main goals. First, it is designed to provide you with an overview of the study of social movements; second, it aims to familiarize you with several traditional movements (e.g.  MLK鈥檚 Poor Peoples Movement, anti-colonial movements, labor or women movement, etc.). Lastly, throughout the semester you are asked to follow, research, and report on a particular social movement or social movement organization of your choice.

Overall, this class will equip you with a solid understanding of how scholars have approached movements to understand their emergence, impact, and decline. Moreover, you will gain an overview of central mobilizations and movements and become a specialist on a particular social movement organization of your choosing.

Politics is a term we frequently hear in everyday life, yet its meaning varies widely. Some describe it as a craft or skill, while others see it as strategy, intelligence, or even selfish ambition. But what truly defines politics? How does it differ from political science? And why is understanding politics essential to making sense of the world around us? 

This course explores the essence of politics and political science, examining their distinctions and significance. Students will analyze how human nature 鈥� driven by the pursuit of power, prosperity, and self-interest 鈥� has shaped political systems throughout history. While political advancement has contributed to societal progress, it has also come at a heavy cost, leading to conflicts and wars that have claimed countless innocent lives. Through historical case studies, students will critically engage with key political events and ideas, gaining a deeper understanding of how politics functions, its impact on societies, and the role of political science in decoding the complexities of governance and power.

How do people define health or illness? These concepts have much importance to us personally, but they also carry social meaning tied to individuals鈥� status and behavior as well as the attitudes toward them from fellow citizens. Similarly, medicine is more than a science, it is also a social institution that is built on human relationships and fulfills important societal needs. This discussion-based course will explore illness subjectivity, social and cultural determinants of health, doctor-patient interaction, stigmatization of chronic and mental illness, and the development of a new vision of health as an all-encompassing wellness phenomenon. In the end we might find that good health is much more than our own need or interest, it鈥檚 a profoundly social experience rooted in specific cultural and temporal frameworks.

This course examines popular culture as a potential site of resistance that contributes to social change. Looking at contemporary popular culture and the worldwide push against global neoliberalism in comparative perspective with culture and social movements of the past, this course examines how power and resistance operates in society. In varying ways, these cultural products force new perspectives and call for new ways of being through the creation of what Kenneth Burke referred to as "alternate ethical universes," further functioning as "equipment for living." We will explore relevant debates, historical and contemporary, concerning the impact of popular culture on social change. There is a focus on social media, humor, art (both "mundane" and "fine"), music, comics, gaming, television and film, and fandoms as sites of resistance. The approach to this course is theoretical, practical, and transnational. It draws from sociology, communication, critical theory, cultural studies, postcolonialism, and other related fields.

This course introduces students to key sociological concepts and their relevance for understanding and explaining major issues in both culture and social change. It aims to define and interrogate fundamental concepts in sociology and cultural studies, while also illustrating these through timely and topical social issues of global scope in the news. While it addresses globalization, it puts this in historical perspective and relates it to enduring ideas in sociological analysis.

Welcome to Food is Power: Understanding Food Systems! This course invites students to explore the profound impact of food on lives, communities, and the world. Food is more than just sustenance; it tells a story, a narrative of culture, history, and connection. Every meal shared and every ingredient used carries with it traditions, innovations, and challenges that shape the fabric of society. Throughout the semester, we will engage with the complexities of food systems, examining the intricate processes of production, distribution, and consumption, as well as their effects on health, the environment, and social equity.

The course centers on the concept of food sovereignty, emphasizing food's transformative potential to foster justice, resilience, and empowerment within communities. What makes this course unique is its grounding in both theory and practice. Classroom discussions and projects will be enriched by opportunities to engage with local community leaders, farmers, and organizations at the forefront of food systems change. These partnerships will provide students with real-world insights and inspire them to think critically about their role in fostering equitable and sustainable food systems.

You are encouraged to bring their curiosity, experiences, and passions to the course. Together, the class will explore critical questions: How can food systems be reimagined to better serve everyone? What does it mean to be an active food citizen? How can cultural preservation be balanced with innovation and sustainability?

This course is permitted for students who have been accepted to the 2026 Germany Beyond the Classroom study abroad program.

This class is in preparation of our trip to Germany in May of 2026. The aim is to familiarize you with German history, culture, politics, and life. After a first set of readings that compares contemporary Germany to the US, the seminar is structured historically, working our way from medieval times to present day Germany. We spend extra time on the Nazi-Period and the Holocaust (including a visit to the Florida Holocaust Museum). We will have one main book that covers Germany鈥檚 historical development as well as several works that cover particular periods and themes such as the Holocaust and Germany unification. We also do some basic German language training. A core part of this class is our participation in the OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference. In small groups and with the support from the faculty and the class as a whole, you will be working on a topic of your interest related to Germany. In the past that included themes such as comparing the environmental policies, German Film, German fairytales, and many more. To prepare and support you, a USF Librarian will be visiting us in class to talk about how the library can support you and your projects.

"Pilgrimage of Purpose" invites students on an intellectual and reflective journey to explore pilgrimage not only as a physical act but as a metaphor for the search for meaning and purpose in life. Drawing from existential psychology, philosophy, and diverse faith and cultural traditions, the course examines how pilgrimage鈥攁long with the broader framework of the hero鈥檚 journey鈥攈as long served as a path to self-discovery, healing, and connection to something greater than oneself. Students will engage with scholarship on purpose formation in emerging adulthood and consider how understanding one鈥檚 personal values and mission contributes to well-being, resilience, and life satisfaction. Case studies via guest speakers will include Indigenous North American traditions, the Camino de Santiago, Hajj, and sacred journeys along the River Ganges, among others, offering insight into the shared human experience of purposeful travel and transformation.

Through cultural immersion experiences in the Tampa Bay area, guest speakers, reflective journaling, and collaborative discussion, students will deepen their understanding of how personal growth intersects with community and global engagement. Weekly reflections will integrate research on mental health and purpose development with lived experience, encouraging students to consider how their unique path can contribute to a more compassionate and just society. By examining the communal aspects of pilgrimage and participating in experiential learning, students will be empowered to think critically about their roles as engaged citizens and future leaders, and specifically how their own understanding of purpose can foster connection, dialogue, and service in both college and professional life.

This seminar has been universally applauded by previous students who have said this course changed their lives, as well as the lives of their friends and family. We will cover controversial issues in health-related topics that have consequences for you personally, as well as how you will engage with others in your career. This course will enable you to gain experience in the oral and written analysis and expression of scientific methods and outcomes.

Note: this class is hosted outside the Honors building in PCD 1134.

This course aims to cultivate an understanding of ethical ideas & practice, evaluate these within specific dimensions of human experience, & develop skill pertaining to the realization of practice or policy within a broad context of civic engagement.

At a time when contemporary democracies are threatened by growing discord and divisiveness, this class examines the critical importance of argument, debate and civil discourse to citizenship and civic responsibility. From the ancient Greek city states to the contemporary world, students will evaluate the essential role of free speech, viewpoint diversity, and the exchange of ideas to strengthening the foundation across many forms of democracy.  The class will explore decline in the debating tradition and the consequent threat to democracy along with the importance of individual and collective resiliency in an increasingly divided and dangerous world most often characterized by technological mediation. The class will also consider the importance of recognizing and responding to the rise of demagoguery, bullies and authoritarianism, the antithesis of democracy, in both domestic and global contexts.

Students will critically assess the great debates in western civilization and beyond, the importance of presidential debates throughout the history of American democracy and advance their own rhetorical skills through demonstrating active listening, critical thinking, forming a substantive and persuasive argument, and rebuttal. 

Human migration is a staple of human existence, and has been for as long as we have historical or archaeological record. However, the contemporary world provides new opportunities for dealing with the conditions of mass migration, new means by which to understand the causes and potential solution to issues of migration, refuge, and homelessness, and new challenges in the face of increasingly dense human populations and increasingly numerous migrations.

In this course we will examine new ways to conceptualize the nature of home and homelessness. We will explore some of the political, financial, psychological, environmental, and social causes of mass migration, and attempt to address future solutions to some of these challenges.

How should human beings relate to the natural world? Do we have moral obligations toward non-human animals and other parts of nature? And what do we owe to other human beings, including future generations, with respect to the environment? This course will examine such questions in light of some current and classical ethical theories: considering what those theories suggest regarding the extent and nature of our environmental obligations. While we will pay some attention to these questions in a general philosophical sense, in this course we will focus on specific topics of interest as chosen by the students. We will emphasize interdisciplinary scholarship and how technology, politics, cultural, and social concerns impact on our understanding of the environment and of our ability to negotiate appropriate relationships to and with our environment.

This course is restricted to 7-year BS/MD students during the first week of registration. To request a permit, contact Carter Harbert.

This seminar in biomedical ethics will allow students to explore a range of real-world issues encountered in medical practice. While examining the facts of cases, students will be challenged to consider the cultural, emotional, political, and spiritual perspectives of patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders who find themselves in complex medical situations. Students will attend class ready to engage with readings through class discussions and reflective writing. Students will research an area of ethics that interests them and present their findings to the class at the end of the semester.

This course delves into the complex ethical issues that come up when we look at death, dying, and the afterlife through the lens of various spiritual and religious traditions, with a focus on how these perspectives contribute to the broader concept of fostering a healthy humanity. Students will explore how different faiths and spiritual beliefs shape end-of-life choices, influence the grieving process, and frame views on the afterlife, all while considering the ways these perspectives support both individual and collective well-being. Key topics such as medical assistance in dying, euthanasia, funeral rites, and the allocation of healthcare resources, will be examined on the basis of how they are shaped by religious and spiritual values.

Through thought-provoking readings and media, philosophical debates, and case studies from religious studies, bioethics, and cultural anthropology, students will gain a deeper understanding of how various religious traditions address mortality as part of holistic well-being. The course will involve plenty of active and written discussions, encouraging students to reflect on how the material has shifted or deepened their ethical views on death, dying, and spirituality. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to critically navigate complex ethical questions around death, and to better understand how spiritual and religious frameworks shape both personal and societal approaches to end-of-life care and the pursuit of a "good death."

Unprecedented technological change is the backdrop for your journey into the realm of applied AI ethics. This course equips you with a core practical ethics framework to navigate today鈥檚 most urgent AI dilemmas. Through critical thinking, interactive dialogue, and guided scenarios you will apply a variety of established 鈥渆thical lenses鈥� to gain a working understanding of how these foundations relate to the current AI context. This is neither a technical coding course nor abstract philosophy. Instead, you will engage in hands-on exercises and create a personalized 鈥淎I ethics portfolio鈥� blending discovery with application. Selected case scenarios will deepen your approach while exploring issues such as: AI trust and responsibility, algorithmic error and manipulation, data privacy and surveillance, high-stakes decision-making systems such as health care, workplace transformation, and emerging governance structures. Your journey culminates in drafting an actual AI Ethics Policy, Regulation or Law, applying what you have learned to a concrete challenge. By course end, you will be equipped not only with frameworks and tools, but also with a clearer sense of the role you can play in shaping AI鈥檚 transformative impact on society.

This course investigates the relationship between language, culture, and meaning, offering an interdisciplinary perspective that integrates linguistics, anthropology, and psychology (interdisciplinary international studies). Through documentary films, ethnographic case studies, and real-world examples of international service, students will explore how language both shapes and reflects cultural identity, values, and social structures. A key component of the course is the use of films created by local filmmakers, showcasing original languages and storytelling traditions to provide a firsthand account of cultural immersion and meaning-making. By examining linguistic frameworks in diverse societies, students will gain insight into how language influences perception, decision-making, and social cohesion. This exploration extends to the bio-psycho-social dimensions of language, including how different cultures conceptualize intimacy, aging, mental health, and well-being. Through the lens of applied linguistics and cultural anthropology, students will analyze how communication practices impact personal and collective notions of purpose, resilience, and belonging in an interconnected world.

One of the central themes of the course is how linguistic relativity鈥攖he idea that the structure of a language affects cognition鈥攕hapes human interactions with the environment, sustainability efforts, and social adaptation. By examining indigenous languages, multilingual societies, and linguistic preservation efforts, students will assess how language influences environmental stewardship, policy-making, and cultural survival in an era of globalization. Case studies will span communities in the Americas and the Pacific Islands, multilingual societies in Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as linguistic diversity in the Middle East. These case studies will highlight the intersection of language with social identity, migration, regional policies, and ecological knowledge systems. Students will also explore modern challenges such as work-life balance in global contexts, linguistic barriers in healthcare, and the effects of digital communication on cultural preservation. By the end of the course, students will develop a deep appreciation for the ways language and culture shape human experience, but also cultivate critical thinking, cross-cultural communication skills, and a global perspective essential for engaging in an increasingly interconnected world.

Human development is about ameliorating human life in contrast to the popular belief that development is solely about economic growth. It focuses on people and expanding opportunities and choices they can access. This course will provide an interdisciplinary approach to examining human development patterns and the relationship between people and planet Earth in the age of Anthropocene using the human development index (HDI). In short, HDI is a measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, education or skill set, and having a decent standard of living.

We will look into countries that best create conditions for people to thrive in. What country is the most developed country in the world, hence most desirable to live in and why? This will be a seminar-style course using interactive content and following trends worldwide. Together we will read short analyses, watch movies, and have panel and working group discussions uncovering the root causes of inequality, social injustice, short life expectancy, and lack of opportunities for people. By doing so we will work towards the final course assignment, a project proposing potential solutions for the topics discussed.

People need protection from potential harm. All of us can find ourselves in harmful situations, especially when we engage in disputes or conflicts of interest. In these situations, we start looking into actions or remedies that we can use to redress the harm. When remedies are guaranteed by law, they are called legal remedies. Legal remedies involving a third party, such as a legal institution, lead to resolving disputes mostly through compensation or restitution. The ability of people to seek and access legal remedies through different mechanisms is the main concern of the Access to Justice concept. In this course, we will explore different models of Access to Justice in the Americas, Europe & Asia, and Africa and the human rights standards linked to them. We will also look at the connection between Access to Justice and social justice. This connection can be examined from different perspectives such as equal or unequal opportunities, privileges, and economic justice. 

Following current events shaping the world we live in students will better understand human rights protection in our country and around the world. Students will engage in facilitated discussions, team presentations, student-led working groups, workshops, and a final research project.

This class explores post-World War II history as seen through the camera's lens. Students will follow and explore pivotal moments from the early 1950s to the present day and how they were covered, first by the earliest days of television to the explosion of present day technology and advanced social media. This course will discuss the Army-McCarthy Hearings of the 1950s, the Kennedy/Nixon debates, the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, the Iraq wars, and many other historic events examining how each of these moments were not only covered by the media,, but how they also influenced the public opinion.

Every society sustains itself not only through laws and institutions but through imagined orders such as myths, stories, symbols, and shared visions of meaning. In this course, through the medium of dance theater, we will explore how these frameworks give coherence to social life and provide ways of understanding origins, values, and purpose. We will also examine how moving and speaking bodies can reflect inherited histories while creating new rituals that help us navigate contemporary life. From Genesis to Hindu epics, Indigenous traditions, and contemporary media cultures, narratives and rituals sustain worldviews across traditions. The Book of Genesis is one of the most enduring and influential of these. For more than two millennia, it has shaped the lives of billions of people around the globe, influencing spiritual, moral, and political life, as well as philosophy, art, literature, and concepts of human beginnings and justice. Its imagery - Eden, the Flood, Babel, sacrifice - is woven into global cultural memory. Seen as a shared imaginative framework, it has functioned as a lens for organizing societies, providing moral order and a sense of belonging. It has not only been read but enacted, staged, painted, danced, and ritualized, making it a living performance tradition.

This is a dance-performance-driven, practice-based course designed for students from across disciplines, with no prior training in dance or theater required. The course will draw on professional methods Professor Magal uses in developing dance performances and physical theater works in Europe, but they will be adapted in an accessible and playful way. Students will experiment with movement practices, guided improvisation, storytelling, and collaborative physical research as tools for exploring Genesis, both as a way of examining ritual in sustaining shared realities and as a portal into other traditions. Alongside embodied work, students will engage in written reflections, analyses, and proposals that prepare them to materialize ideas in practice. The process will culminate in a final collaborative performance that embodies invention, shared ritual, and collective imagination. Beyond the studio, students will gain transferable skills in expression, collaboration, and creative problem-solving that can enrich their personal, academic, and professional lives.

This course explores the complex and reciprocal relationship between music and devotion across a diverse range of global traditions. Through the lens of ethnomusicology, anthropology, and religious studies, students will analyze how music functions as a tool for worship, a vehicle for mystical experience, a marker of religious identity, and a force for community building. The course will particularly focus how devotional music is shaped by specific historical, cultural, and theological contexts. A key goal will be to develop a sonic map that situates and interconnects religious practice through hymnals, songs, performance traditions, sound, and listening/hearing practices. The first half of the course will cover major traditions in global contexts: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and New Religious Movements. The second half of the course will cover issues in major global traditions such as gender, migration, protest, media, ritual, and ecology. A wide range of musical traditions and sonic phenomena will be discussed: Santer铆a, Qur鈥檃nic recitation, Amish bluegrass, Hindu temple drumming, Buddhist beatboxing, pagan ritual, Tunisian trance, Aboriginal ceremony, astral jazz, Sacred Harp singing, and much more!

Popular music, which began in the 1950s in the United States and England, has in the 21st century transcended borders to take the world by storm. Generally defined as music produced for the masses by the music industry with catchy tunes, instrumentation, rhythm, and lyrics compared to art and folk music, the universal appeal of pop music can be deemed simply by looking at its worldwide audiences in today鈥檚 sonic market. However, despite its widespread appeal and a global fan base, popular music as an ambivalent 鈥渃ategory-defying genre鈥� does not limit itself to one style of entertainment and escapism as some might suggest. Instead, it has provided artists and the masses with an active space to protest and articulate modes of resistance in forging counter-hegemonic narratives of the world.

Taking a relatively new area of academic interest called 鈥減opular music studies,鈥� which is predominantly marked for its inclusivity, interdisciplinary inquiry, experiential interactions, and critical thinking, this course will examine the role of popular music in negotiating, consolidating, and contesting structures of power between communities, cultures, and individuals. As such, our studies will cover musics from the U.S., East Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia by grounding them within socio-political realities through readings on critical theory, cultural studies, ethnomusicology, nationalism, place, ethnicity, gender studies, and queer studies.

This course explores pathways to establishing a lasting peace in Ukraine, with a focus on European perspectives and the role of key international organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Through immersive role-playing and simulations, students will assume the positions of European powers and international actors to draft peace treaties and develop comprehensive post-war reconstruction plans for Ukraine.

Drawing from historical case studies鈥攊ncluding World Wars I and II, the Marshall Plan, the Cyprus crisis of 1974, the Yugoslav wars, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union鈥攕tudents will critically examine Europe鈥檚 legacy of conflict, reconciliation, and peace treaties. The course integrates military, diplomatic, economic, and cultural dimensions of peacebuilding, with attention to the nuances of advancing technologies, establishing stability in terms of infrastructure and services (medical, law enforcement, food supply, etc.), strategic cultures, and geopolitical realities.

Students will examine declassified government documents, past treaties, leaders鈥� speeches, and transcripts of negotiations to better understand the complexities of diplomacy and peacebuilding. The course will also feature guest speakers from various European nations with backgrounds in military, diplomacy, economic, and cultural policy, offering firsthand insights into the challenges and opportunities involved in securing peace. Students will also gain foundational skills in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), culminating in a final project that includes both a written peace and reconstruction plan and a map outlining a proposed post-war territorial arrangement aimed at ensuring long-term stability and prosperity in Ukraine. Special attention will be given to the ongoing peace negotiations. If a ceasefire or peace is agreed upon, the class will examine it in real time, assessing its structure, enforcement mechanisms, and implications for long-term peace and regional stability. Students will still craft their own peace and reconstruction plans.

This interdisciplinary course operates at the intersection of history, international relations, geography, and cultural studies, equipping students with both theoretical insights and practical tools for conflict resolution along with analyzing, more broadly, the world and its complex problems.

This course is designed as a comparative presentation of current issues across international healthcare systems with a focus on South Africa, Italy, Japan, and France. Emphasis is on discussing diverse areas of health and is appropriate for students of any major interested in healthcare delivery, personal health, or health education. We will discuss and debate healthcare delivery systems, medical malpractice, physical/mental health, physician-assisted suicide, the opioid crisis, women鈥檚 reproductive health, medical devices, and healthcare disparities in the United States and abroad. This is a hands-on class, and students will be actively engaged and working in teams to complete a project. Although health and healthcare in other countries might seem far removed from our daily concerns in the United States, many nations face issues of uneven access, constrained resources, and a focus on improving the efficiency of services. Understanding how different nations confront issues of universal coverage, access, equity, and quality will enhance students鈥� ability to develop new ideas and approaches for addressing these challenges in the United States. Students will be introduced to community partners of USF's Area Health Education Center (AHEC) for project ideas.

We are currently in a state of emergency about the future of our relationship with the natural environment. We are experiencing the 6th mass extinction, global warming over 1.5 (2.7F) degrees Celsius, ecological damage, rising sea levels, more natural disasters, and population displacement. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer size, scale, and scope of these crises. Our natural inclination may be to feel hopeless and powerless. BUT you do not have to feel this way! This class will discuss the many facets of the climate change problem, how people are ALREADY working on addressing it, and what YOU can do to contribute to making the world a better and safer place for us all to live. We will engage with the scientific literature, with calls for action, with NGOs around the world, and with people right here in our own community fighting climate change. Join us and learn how to save a planet!

As the world becomes increasingly interdependent due to globalization, the need for intercultural awareness becomes more indispensable than ever. In light of the assimilative forces of globalization and its spread of narrowly constructed identities, interculturality proposes a relational approach to understand, appreciate, and respect cultural differences as a complex, interconnected whole. This awareness encompasses the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that enable the development of cross-cultural sensitivity and reciprocal adjustment to ensure social harmony on the local and global scales. While maintaining the interconnectedness of our communities and reinforcing a sense of belonging as responsible global citizens, fostering intercultural dialogue and promoting cooperation help us tackle the shared risks of globalization.

Our cultural identities are subject to the cultural sameness prompted by the dynamics of globalization, which often tend to conflate diversity with multiplicity. In this sense, interculturality and global citizenship work in tandem not only to value the enrichment of cultural diversity and empathy for difference but also to inspire cooperation to alleviate systemic disparities and ensure equitable growth for local and global communities, without any hegemonic undertones. Drawing from theoretical and applied social sciences (e.g., applied linguistics, cultural studies, intercultural communication, post-colonial literature, and social psychology), using blended learning of class lectures and seminars, this course explores the meaning and role of interculturality, while uncovering the extent to which global citizenship, as a set of values and commitments, presents a challenging construct both conceptually and empirically.

Population movement and displacement has been an increasingly powerful phenomenon in our global age. This course considers the experiences of immigrants, refugees, and exiles from the perspective of human rights theory. The aim of this course is to instigate critical thinking of the complexity of their experiences, which is critical for an informed debate. We begin our conversations by examining the state as a moral agent, and state boundaries鈥� function of inclusion/exclusion. We will examine the causes and consequences of displacement. Why do people migrate across international borders? How do we understand the politics of immigration and the policies that let some people in, but keep others out? We will also spend considerable time learning about immigrants' process of integration and 鈥渓earning鈥� their new home. We will look at socioeconomic integration and consider broader questions of belonging and membership.

In this class we will engage with various learning materials, including documentaries, to learn about and reflect on various human experiences in relation to migration. You will also reflect on a story of migration within your surroundings, and compose a migration narrative and create an interactive, multimedia Story Map. In addition, we will explore the immense power of food as a vehicle for cultural preservation and expression and work together on a collaborative project compiling a cookbook, where you can share authentic narratives, anecdotes, and recipes of dishes that remind you of home.

Southeast Asia is widely recognized as a hotbed of human trafficking and exploitation, with global estimates placing as much as 80% of trafficking worldwide within or originating from this one region. It is also a region closely connected to the fashion industry with its abundance of garment districts and manufacturing facilities, and a long history of providing cheap labor for external entities. As human trafficking continues to grow exponentially around the globe, touching nearly every nation and industry, the world of fashion, particularly with the explosion of fast fashion, is not only susceptible to trafficking鈥檚 infiltration, but may even rely on the exploitation and suffering of individuals trapped within its web. In this course, we will explore the relationship between human trafficking and fashion in our globalized economy from landmark cases such as the El Monte sweatshop to more recent developments and international efforts to combat exploitation.

The course will focus heavily on geographic distinctions in both the means utilized and the motivations behind each region鈥檚 participation in the global human trafficking network, but will center heavily on Southeast Asia, branching out to follow the supply chain and the money. The course will ask students to consider their own role in the fashion-on-demand industry and to creatively investigate approaches which might offer affordable, sustainable alternatives.

Health care has for centuries been a major concern of societies around the globe. From the rituals of ancient Mesopotamia, the medical texts of ancient Egypt, the insights on Roman medicine provided by Pompeii and the epidemics and pandemics that have been recorded since the Middle Ages, to the beginnings of scientific medicine, the history of health provides an exciting perspective with lessons valid even today. As humans change the environment ever more and reach unprecedented demographic levels, old and new foes return: diseases previously considered defeated adapt and (re-) emerge, creating widespread disruption. Using a scientific approach within archaeology and history, the course will present an innovative and up-to-date history of the world focusing on health. A transdisciplinary deep history and evolutionary approach towards pathogens will be emphasized. Upon completion of the course, students in any discipline will be better equipped to understand and contend with new health challenges.

This interdisciplinary course will explore global demographics related to religion with particular attention to the "Nones"--the religiously unaffiliated. As Samuel L. Perry (2024) writes, "Science can help us understand how religion works because it helps us understand how we humans work, both as individuals and in groups." We will compare and contrast trends in the U.S. with global trends, discuss types of "Nones," and try to understand why "religion" does not go away.  In addition to seminar discussions, you will use a variety of research tools and methods to engage in your own research project to collect data and present your findings.

"Can the subaltern speak?" --Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, social theorist and scholar

Beasts and Burdens leverages film as a discursive site in which to investigate the 鈥渟outh鈥� not only as a physical, geographical location but as a position of marginality. Along the way, we will investigate our own southern positionalities vis a vis Gloria Anzaldua鈥檚 concept of borderlands epistemologies; that is, what are the ways in which we all inhabit and traverse multiple worlds and marginalities?

GK Chesterton observed, 鈥淭he traveler sees what they see whereas the tourist sees what they have come to see.鈥� During the course, students will travel through diverse topographies, accompanying, among others, Hushpuppy and Wink through Beasts of the Southern Wild; refugees through Ai Weiwei鈥檚 Human Flow; Jamal, Salim, and Latika through Slumdog Millionaire; and the Kim and Park families through Parasite, investigating themes of trauma and resilience, power, privilege, agency, and the ways in which inequality actually gets under our skin.

Beasts and Burdens seeks to center the margins, beginning with Gayathri Spivak's question, 鈥淐an the subaltern speak,鈥� and by expansion, 鈥淐an the subaltern be heard and to what ends?鈥� Finally, we will examine the emotion work of the 鈥渉appy ending,鈥� and the ways in which we can overcome a false sense of powerlessness to affect positive change.

鈥淧oison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy鈥� -Paracelsus, Physician, Alchemist, Philosopher

This course will survey the relationship between a variety of mind-altering substances and cultural processes. We discuss the physiological and psychological effects of these substances - ranging from alcohol and caffeine to LSD and ecstasy - and ask why different drugs are sanctioned and prohibited by different societies. We explore the history of mind-altering substance use and the relationship with such phenomena as health, poverty, religion, popular media, inter-generational conflict, and politics. Students will explore the evolution of substance use from their indigenous roots to the modern global pharmaceutical industry. Topics will include (but are not limited to): bioethics and the medicalization of drugs; discourse and debate around medical vs. holistic, healing vs. harming, mind-controlling vs. mind-altering, and recreation vs. addiction; legal sanctions and countercultures; global trade of sugar, coffee, and nicotine; and the rise of popular pharmaceutical products. Through discussion, we will apply a variety of theoretical perspectives toward a more holistic understanding of how medicine and drugs, drug use, and addiction are conceptualized, constituted, materialized, and commodified through social and cultural norms and practices. Students will complete a generative solution-focused research project exploring how these tensions shape the way we experience our own individual and collective health and wellbeing.

What does it mean to be Indigenous? How do different Indigenous philosophies approach the subject of interconnectedness? At what point does a person become not indigenous? Students will grapple with these questions as we explore indigenous philosophies from a variety of global regions and communities. This course will guide students through understanding how humans have pursued or resisted philosophies of interconnectedness throughout history. Students will engage with indigenous philosophies of interconnectedness and belonging through texts, films, and art. Students will create a portfolio of autoethnography, reflections, and art pieces to demonstrate their learning.

In 1994, the SisterSong organization coined the term 鈥渞eproductive justice.鈥� Now, over thirty years later, we are still striving towards applying this term. This course guides students through a global survey of rights and resistance movements as they pertain to reproductive justice. In this course students will learn how to apply a reproductive justice lens to different social conditions. Students will examine a variety of cultural contexts that impact populations across the world to understand the global pursuit of reproductive justice. Students will participate in community engagement, create art projects, write autoethnography, and craft a research project to demonstrate course learnings.

Ahlan wa Sahlan: Welcome to Food, Society and Culture in the Mediterranean Region!

Food often carries significant social and cultural importance in many societies. In this course, we will explore food traditions in the Mediterranean region and Mid-East Asia, focusing on their identification as Arab-Mediterranean Cuisine and the complexities this identification presents within the region鈥檚 multicultural identities. We鈥檒l examine how recipes and dietary practices pass knowledge from one generation to the next, the stories food tells, and how it preserves cultural heritage and reinforces family values.

Students will have the opportunity to explore Mediterranean and Eastern cuisine in the Tampa Bay communities. What does food reveal about the nature of its people and the origins of its identity? How has taste traveled across the Arab region and beyond? How has comfort food preserved its authentic flavors and cooking techniques? Together, we will investigate the journey of food as it narrates key historical events, agricultural challenges, celebrations, religion, and dietary customs in the Eastern world. Students will learn to navigate cultures through food, network with diverse community members, and participate in field trips to local food festivals and Arab and Eastern restaurants in the Tampa Bay area.

In the Northwestern Moroccan city of Tangier, one can catch a glimpse of the lights from Southern Spain. Welcome to the Kingdom of Morocco "Mraheba Beekum." Morocco stands as a country that not only preserves but also showcases a living example of the interconnectedness between two cultures and the art of preserving and protecting a shared heritage. In this course, students will delve into the Andalusian-Maghrebi cultural heritage, exploring the profound impact of Morocco on Southern Spain, and examine Al Andalus and how it shaped the cultural, linguistic and religious landscape of the Maghreb region (North Africa) and Southern Spain.

Students will examine the migrations of communities in times of harmony and crisis, and the narratives they brought along to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, including cities like Tetouan, Melilla, Chefchaouen, and others along the coast. We will raise questions and navigate current initiatives led by academics and organizations to revive Al Andalus.

In our cultural exploration, we will inquire about the history of Andalusia and the Moors, delving into what Al Andalus signifies to the diverse communities within North Africa and surrounding areas. Students will also explore new discoveries and projects aimed at reviving the untold stories of Andalusia through literature, creative expression, architecture, historical sites, and the golden age of Andalusian scholarly work.

This course is permitted for students who have been accepted to the 2026 South Korea Beyond the Classroom study abroad program.

This course introduces students to the rich history and dynamic culture of Korea, preparing them to navigate cultural differences with curiosity, respect, and openness. We will begin by building a historical and cultural foundation through which we can explore the many facets of Korean identity. Students will engage with an interdisciplinary range of topics, including language, cuisine, traditions, Hallyu (the Korean Wave), business practices, health, social norms, media, and more. Students will engage in active learning and discussion through experiential activities such as group projects, media analysis, guest speakers, and interactive cultural exercises. Students will also participate in a Virtual Global Exchange (VGE) with Yonsei University students through a pen pal program, creating opportunities for an authentic and meaningful cross-cultural dialogue. By the end of the course, students will not only deepen their understanding of Korea but also develop skills for engaging across cultures, using Korea as a lens for broader global connection. Active participation, consistent attendance, and involvement in both in-class and select out-of-class activities will be required.

This course is permitted for students who have been accepted to the 2026 Japan Beyond the Classroom study abroad program.

Japan is like the "period" at the end of a sentence. Whether it is religion, culture or technology, Japan was often the final destination for various movements flowing East. Traveling through other countries and eventually crossing the ocean, these movements morphed over time reflecting the geological and geographical context of places passed through. It reminds you of the children's game "whisper down the valley." Our geographic studies include the overall history, current socio-economic issues, nature and environment, the cultural identity through language, arts and architecture. The purpose of the course is not only to build geographical knowledge about Japan, but also to draw multiple perspectives by examining the complexity of a country and the relationships with other countries. The challenge was and is a balancing act between its own originality and the adaptation of outside influences. Zipangu, once known as the Land of Gold, in 鈥淭he Travels of Marco Polo鈥� now has many cultural traditions to share from the tea ceremony to architecture as well as recent pop cultures.

This course is permitted for 7-year BS/MD students who have been accepted for 2026 matriculation to the Morsani College of Medicine.

The Seminar in Medicine course will address aspects of the medical school pre-clinical curriculum and examine professionalism for physicians. The course will involve several faculty members within the Morsani College of Medicine speaking on various topics including diversity, curriculum, business in medicine, law in medicine, ethics, and scholarly concentrations.

This discussion-based course explores leadership through the lens of literature and film, using creative narratives to investigate the complexities, moral dilemmas, and responsibilities tied to leadership. Students will engage with literary works such as Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville, The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad, Chinua Achebe鈥檚 Things Fall Apart, The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich, The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu, and The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. Alongside these, students will examine films like The Great Gatsby (adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald鈥檚 novel), Death of a Salesman (adapted from Arthur Miller鈥檚 play), Gandhi (directed by Richard Attenborough), Bicycle Thieves (directed by Vittorio De Sica), and The Song of Sparrows (directed by Majid Majidi). These works provide a rich canvas for examining how characters confront issues of power, ethics, and transformation.

Students will participate in discussions and produce two response papers, analyzing how leadership challenges are addressed in the texts and films. The final paper will encourage students to reflect on their own leadership potential, informed by the themes and insights developed throughout the course.

This class is designed to give students an enhanced understanding of world events and civic institutions that influence their lives. Students will emerge from this class with a better grasp of the news of the day and the confidence to be able to articulate its importance on their journey to becoming a more engaged citizen. To that end, students will be required to read the online editions of The Tampa Bay Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as follow other information platforms such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other outlets. This course will include a weekly news quiz. Students will also participate in weekly team presentations exploring in-depth some aspect of current news events or civic institutions. It is said journalism often represents the first draft of history. And thus, the goals of this class are two-fold. First students will become better informed and thus more aware of the stories that help form their world view. Second, students will gain a keener understanding of the journalistic challenges associated with news gathering.  Lastly, this is Capstone class and therefore students will be required to submit a paper at the end of the semester.

Motion Graphic animation is becoming an important medium for creating awareness and explaining important topics to better our community. In this course, students will develop skills in creating infographic animations that address societal challenges, with a focus on public health. In partnership with USF's College of Public Health, students will produce Public Health Service Announcements (PSAs) using motion graphics. These projects will target public health issues in the Tampa Bay area, proposing solutions and encouraging community action. Adobe After Effects and Illustrator will be the primary software used in this course. No prior experience with motion graphics is required.

This course combines culinary arts with the capabilities of generative AI, allowing students to create and refine recipes tailored to a variety of dietary needs. Throughout the course, students will explore AI tools that assist in developing personalized, innovative, and diet-friendly recipes while ensuring they remain appealing to the palate. Students will establish a curation process for specific groups or demographics, including vegetarian, diabetic, food allergy, low sodium, or particular cultural cuisines. Each student will prepare the recipes selected for their cookbooks to verify their usability and taste. Every student will select their top three selections to be submitted for inclusion in a class cookbook. This class cookbook will be posted on the Honors College website for public access. Students must be willing to cook and share their experiences throughout the process. Access to a kitchen with an oven is also a requirement.

This class requires the students to have already taken either IDH 3100 Art + the Environment or a previous directed study with Professor Piracci to build on previous momentum and scaffolding.

With rising sea levels and global temperatures climbing, our earth is in need of immediate regenerative action. This studio art course will propose various forms of restorative design and art activism to address climate change, threatened ecosystems and the environment. This research course will have a focus on the oyster restoration brick (ORB) project or community partners and murals. Utilizing design, fine art, and other creative modes of expressive solutions, we will research potential calls for creative action, whether via art activism and awareness or design implementation and fieldwork. Through community partnerships, we will investigate opportunities for impact design.  This collaboration with Dr. Ellis from the Marine Biology at USFSP will involve research, partnerships, and field work. With opportunities to ideate and develop design proposals with the environment in mind, we will collaborate with community researchers and organizations to take creative action for a cleaner tomorrow and bring awareness to sustainability.

You will serve on a consultant team of peers to develop a comprehensive proposal for adoption by a local community organization. Experts from USF鈥檚 Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation (IADI) will join our course at key points to provide insight and mentorship from their experiences in the world of health and institutions. You will be assigned work geared to support the mission of a non-profit organization in the local Tampa Bay region that includes understanding their challenges, building a network of support on their behalf, and navigating complex problems. In previous semesters, we have worked with WeNourish, an organization founded to ensure that those undernourished in our local community due to the pandemic were provided with hot meals. They were able to do this through a grant from Hillsborough County which empowered them to sustain local restaurants which would otherwise close from lack of business. With mentorship from IADI faculty, you will develop a substantive proposal on behalf of a non-profit as well as present your progress throughout. The community partner will join throughout the semester to provide context for their needs and direction during the development of the proposal.

This course examines contemporary social movements around reproductive health, rights, and justice in global historical contexts. The historical and cross-cultural examination of debates about, and advocacy around, reproduction will ground students' research into current medical, legislative, and social reform movements aimed at changing the ways people imagine human futures and work to create them through policy, education, and activism. Students' research will serve as the basis for creating their own projects aimed at increasing public understanding of their topics in the form of a public event, a podcast, an exhibition, a website, a course syllabus, a documentary, or another form.

鈥淒evelop your senses-especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.鈥� -Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance artist

The Tampa Museum of Art's (TMA) Connections Program is an art-viewing and discussion program that focuses on fostering emotional wellness, community engagement, self-expression, and self-reflection. Connections encourages participants to look deeper into the Tampa Museum of Art鈥檚 exhibitions, make personal connections with the artwork, and gain new perspectives. The program strives to create a welcoming environment for all participants. Diverse audiences find the Connections Program to be beneficial. Such participants have included veterans, active-duty military, adults in substance use recovery and behavioral health care, LGBTQ+ support groups, assisted living facilities, and memory care facilities. The Connections Program offers multiple participation formats, including in-person and virtual options. In tandem with the TMA Connections program, The Judy Genshaft Honors College offers a capstone course onsite at the museum.

The goal of the course is twofold: 1.) Train students to facilitate therapeutic art tours with Connections patrons and 2.) Conduct original, community-based participatory research on behalf of the Connections program, most notably creating research-informed activities for use during tours. During the semester, students will learn proven strategies to facilitate therapeutic engagement with art. In doing so, they will practice observation, deep listening, and critical thinking to aid in the facilitation process. At the end of the term, students facilitate tours with friends and family as well as present their final research poster to our museum partners.

Note: We will conduct class onsite at the Tampa Museum of Art, so please allow time to travel back and forth when you are planning your schedule. While transportation is not provided, parking is validated.

This course gives Honors students the opportunity to transform bold ideas into tangible ventures through the Student Innovation Incubator (SII) at USF CONNECT. Students will learn how to think like entrepreneurs, moving from opportunity discovery to customer validation, business modeling, and prototyping. Along the way, they will gain hands-on experience with tools such as design thinking, effectual problem-solving, and the business model canvas. Whether entering with a personal idea or exploring technologies available for licensing through the USF Tech Transfer Office, students will develop practical skills in innovation, collaboration, and resilience that extend far beyond the classroom.

The course is designed for students who are curious, ambitious, and eager to test their creativity in real-world settings. Through facilitated course work, mentorship, and milestone-driven activities, participants will learn how to move from concept to launch while building confidence in pitching, market testing, and communicating their vision. No prior business experience is required, just a willingness to explore, experiment, and embrace the entrepreneurial mindset. By the end of the course, students will have taken concrete steps toward launching a venture, prepared to make meaningful impact on campus, in the community, and in their future careers.

How does law follow culture? This class will use fashion and the evolving landscape of social media influencing as a means of exploring this question.

The last fifteen years have ushered in the dawn of the social media influencer, while traditional powerhouse designers remain tenuously perched in their ivory towers. The business side of social media brings a slew of new legal questions, from "sponsored" posts and brand deals to positioning oneself as an expert. And the law has arguably never kept up with the corruption present in the traditional fashion industry, as fashion models inhabit a world rife with financial exploitation, sexual harassment, and severe eating disorders, due to nearly unfettered control by their agencies.

The strange amalgamation of the old and the new fashion worlds presents both an opportunity for positive change and a host of fresh cultural questions and legal issues. As the next generation looks to glowing smartphones instead of glossy pages for their aesthetic aspirations, will our beauty standards become healthier, or will they simply become unhealthy in different ways? Will a given influencer ever have as much societal power as the big names of the traditional fashion industry? How will business law evolve to fit the needs of the new generation? How can traditional business law and fundamental contract principles be applied to the digital world, and where will we need to see entirely new laws? Will employment law in the fashion industry continue to have more loopholes than a crochet beach cover-up?

Students will explore these questions and more during a class that will cover the intersection of fashion, law, business, and culture. By the end of the class, students will have learned about the old and new fashion industries, including the interplay of culture, media, and power dynamics. They will also know select components of tort law, contract law, employment law, commercial law, and business law. As a bonus鈥攂ut potentially the most important part鈥攕tudents will spend several classes learning about the legal profession as a whole, which will help equip them to make personal decisions, such as whether they would like to attend law school.