Second-Year Experience

What motivated me was curiosity, the only kind of curiosity that is worth acting upon; not the curiosity that seeks to assimilate what is proper for one to know, but that which enables one to get free of oneself. This semester we will unpack the complexity and dynamic force of post/decolonial identity through an interdisciplinary approach. We will follow the painful journey of a Senegalese woman trapped into a racial web of a white French bourgeois household, dive into the clash and the search for independence in Algeria, unpack women’s voices out of India and follow Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s questioning of the role of the English language as a dominant colonial force. Our guiding force will be non-western lens, we will challenge our assumptions, be inspired, and learn from the giants of postcolonial theory.

In this course, we will use poetic forms from across North Africa to build capacities for interdisciplinary research. Our texts will come from fields such as performance studies, literary studies, and religious studies, and we will seek the integrative knowledge that can be made in between these fields by purposely setting them in conjunction with one another, and by learning about interdisciplinarity itself through theory lenses.

From alternate reality games to escape rooms, some of today’s most compelling experiences unfold in real spaces, real communities, and real time. This course explores the design, theory, and cultural significance of these experiences, drawing on perspectives from game studies, narrative theory, spatial design, and psychology. We will examine how place-based games like escape rooms create meaning and community, culminating in collaboratively designing and implementing an original escape room in partnership with a local community organization.

In this course, we will use poetic forms from across North Africa to build capacities for interdisciplinary research. Our texts will come from fields such as performance studies, literary studies, and religious studies, and we will seek the integrative knowledge that can be made in between these fields by purposely setting them in conjunction with one another, and by learning about interdisciplinarity itself through theory lenses.

From alternate reality games to escape rooms, some of today’s most compelling experiences unfold in real spaces, real communities, and real time. This course explores the design, theory, and cultural significance of these experiences, drawing on perspectives from game studies, narrative theory, spatial design, and psychology. We will examine how place-based games like escape rooms create meaning and community, culminating in collaboratively designing and implementing an original escape room in partnership with a local community organization.

What motivated me was curiosity, the only kind of curiosity that is worth acting upon; not the curiosity that seeks to assimilate what is proper for one to know, but that which enables one to get free of oneself. This semester we will unpack the complexity and dynamic force of post/decolonial identity through an interdisciplinary approach. We will follow the painful journey of a Senegalese woman trapped into a racial web of a white French bourgeois household, dive into the clash and the search for independence in Algeria, unpack women’s voices out of India and follow Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s questioning of the role of the English language as a dominant colonial force. Our guiding force will be non-western lens, we will challenge our assumptions, be inspired, and learn from the giants of postcolonial theory.

What motivated me was curiosity, the only kind of curiosity that is worth acting upon; not the curiosity that seeks to assimilate what is proper for one to know, but that which enables one to get free of oneself. This semester we will unpack the complexity and dynamic force of post/decolonial identity through an interdisciplinary approach. We will follow the painful journey of a Senegalese woman trapped into a racial web of a white French bourgeois household, dive into the clash and the search for independence in Algeria, unpack women’s voices out of India and follow Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s questioning of the role of the English language as a dominant colonial force. Our guiding force will be non-western lens, we will challenge our assumptions, be inspired, and learn from the giants of postcolonial theory.

What motivated me was curiosity, the only kind of curiosity that is worth acting upon; not the curiosity that seeks to assimilate what is proper for one to know, but that which enables one to get free of oneself. This semester we will unpack the complexity and dynamic force of post/decolonial identity through an interdisciplinary approach. We will follow the painful journey of a Senegalese woman trapped into a racial web of a white French bourgeois household, dive into the clash and the search for independence in Algeria, unpack women’s voices out of India and follow Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s questioning of the role of the English language as a dominant colonial force. Our guiding force will be non-western lens, we will challenge our assumptions, be inspired, and learn from the giants of postcolonial theory.

How can we best understand sexuality and sexual desire? As humans, we are sexual creatures, yet sexual desire is often viewed by society as taboo and carefully regulated. This section examines potential reasons why, and subsequent repercussions. This is not a how-to course on human sexuality; rather, we will inquire into how we are (or are not) formally educated about sexual desire; how our beliefs about sex and sexuality are formed through religious traditions and cultural expectations; how we encounter representations of sex through visual and performing art, and media; and how industries and laws have formed to sell and regulate sexual content.

How can we best understand sexuality and sexual desire? As humans, we are sexual creatures, yet sexual desire is often viewed by society as taboo and carefully regulated. This section examines potential reasons why, and subsequent repercussions. This is not a how-to course on human sexuality; rather, we will inquire into how we are (or are not) formally educated about sexual desire; how our beliefs about sex and sexuality are formed through religious traditions and cultural expectations; how we encounter representations of sex through visual and performing art, and media; and how industries and laws have formed to sell and regulate sexual content.

Colleges and their host cities have long lived with a quiet border between them — the traditional “town and gown” divide, where campus and community operate as separate ecosystems rather than a single interdependent one. This course asks what it would take to dissolve that border: not through one-way service or charity, but through genuine symbiosis, where campus and community each bring resources the other lacks and both are stronger for the exchange. What keeps a community functioning — not just in ordinary times, but during a heat wave, an outage, or a flood? And what makes a place somewhere people actually want to gather in the first place? This course asks students to investigate the overlap between two ideas: the “third space” — informal, welcoming, everyday gathering space that doesn’t require monetary transactions — and the “resilience hub” — physical infrastructure that supports a community in the steady state, during and after a major disruptive event. Drawing on ecological economics, design, urban planning, sociology, and field-based observation, students will map, interview, and imagine their way toward answering the question: what would it look like for Champlain’s campus to become a genuine resilience and community asset for Burlington and for Burlington, in turn, to become woven into the fabric of Champlain’s own campus and classrooms? What would a truly reimagined, mutually sustaining relationship between the two actually require?

Colleges and their host cities have long lived with a quiet border between them — the traditional “town and gown” divide, where campus and community operate as separate ecosystems rather than a single interdependent one. This course asks what it would take to dissolve that border: not through one-way service or charity, but through genuine symbiosis, where campus and community each bring resources the other lacks and both are stronger for the exchange. What keeps a community functioning — not just in ordinary times, but during a heat wave, an outage, or a flood? And what makes a place somewhere people actually want to gather in the first place? This course asks students to investigate the overlap between two ideas: the “third space” — informal, welcoming, everyday gathering space that doesn’t require monetary transactions — and the “resilience hub” — physical infrastructure that supports a community in the steady state, during and after a major disruptive event. Drawing on ecological economics, design, urban planning, sociology, and field-based observation, students will map, interview, and imagine their way toward answering the question: what would it look like for Champlain’s campus to become a genuine resilience and community asset for Burlington and for Burlington, in turn, to become woven into the fabric of Champlain’s own campus and classrooms? What would a truly reimagined, mutually sustaining relationship between the two actually require?