All Courses
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Fa20 - USER EXPER/DESIGN THINKING (27036)
The rapid expansion of the Internet, e-commerce, and mobile devices has brought software user experience design into prominence. As more information exists in electronic form (and sometimes ONLY in electronic form), the storage and retrieval of information is increasingly a human-computer interaction (HCI) design problem. In the modern world, it’s increasingly important for product managers, designers, and developers to depend NOT on their own intuitions as to what designs are likely to be usable. The way user interface designers and developers address this intentionally is by pursuing a practice of design thinking. Design thinking involves employing a collection of user experience (UX) engineering methods across the life-cycle of a software product (or, indeed, any product, workflow, or other artifact). The class covers three major areas: 1. perceptual psychology, cognitive psychology, and other scientific underpinnings of user experience 2. the methods of design thinking 3. careers in UX
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Fa20 - 1-STRUCTURE OF GERMAN LANGUAGE (36955)
Analyze and discover the organizing principles of German sounds, words, sentences and dialects, then take a look at its sister, English, and the history they share!
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Fa20 - PHILANTHROPY/SOCIAL CHANGE (59104)
Philanthropy is fast becoming a vibrant topic of interdisciplinary scholarship across several disciplines and fields that include political science, sociology (social movement studies), third sector studies, and public affairs. This course focuses on a specialized area within the broader field of philanthropic studies that seeks to address what Rittel and Webberbe (1973) referred to as wicked problems: intractable, vexing social problems that are “unstructured, cross-cutting, and relentless” (Weber and Khademiam, 2008). Examples are plentiful in the U.S. and around the world: homelessness, poverty, public health, food insecurity, urban renewal, educational equity, environmental protection, and systemic/structural racism and sexism. Guided by the principle of “change, not charity”, and often hidden from view for a number of reasons, the area of philanthropic theory and practice that is the focus of this course has a transformational agenda. It supports a more equitable distribution of power in society, thus eliminating the need for ongoing charity focused on the consequences but not necessarily the root causes of many wicked problems. The seminar exposes students to the theory and practice of social change philanthropy from three points of view: 1) scholarship, 2) policy advocacy, and 3) grantmaking practices. Through weekly reading responses, seminar discussions, conversations with guest visitors, two take home exams, and a final project, students will work toward the following learning outcomes: Be able to identify and analyze local examples of social injustice and oppression in systemic/structural terms. Be able to explain how social change philanthropy differs in both theory and practice from other forms of philanthropic activity. Be able to apply learning by joining a scholarly, public, or professional conversation related to a local social justice issue of concern to the student.