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Dietrich College Interdisciplinary Courses

About Course Numbers:

Each Carnegie Mellon course number begins with a two-digit prefix that designates the department offering the course (i.e., 76-xxx courses are offered by the Department of English). Although each department maintains its own course numbering practices, typically, the first digit after the prefix indicates the class level: xx-1xx courses are freshmen-level, xx-2xx courses are sophomore level, etc. Depending on the department, xx-6xx courses may be either undergraduate senior-level or graduate-level, and xx-7xx courses and higher are graduate-level. Consult the Schedule of Classes each semester for course offerings and for any necessary pre-requisites or co-requisites.

66-101 Dietrich Introductory Seminar: College & University Success Strategies
Fall: 3 units
This course is designed to help first-year students build a strong foundation for success in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Through interactive discussions, self-reflection, and hands-on activities, students will develop the skills, mindset, and knowledge necessary to navigate the transition to college life. Students will explore campus resources and opportunities such as undergraduate research, internships, and study abroad to help them make the most of their Dietrich experience. By the end of the course, students will feel more connected to the Dietrich College community and be equipped with the tools needed to navigate their college journey with confidence and purpose. This course is only available to be taken by first-year students in their first semester at Dietrich College.
66-122 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Beyond Earth
Spring: 9 units
The aim in the course is to foster in students a planetary perspective, to see Earth in its context of the cosmos and to see humans in their relation to real or possible forms of life in the universe. The obsession with outer space is found among scientists, business people and politicians, in deed and story, in film and even computer games. If we are to fully appreciate the potentials of space, we must also consider the search for intelligent life in its scientific and societal aspects, and investigate how we could adapt our systems of communication to reach species across distances that may be physically insurmountable. This interdisciplinary course will be taught by scholars from distinct cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Course materials will be taken from scientific literature, the history of science, and science fiction. We will explore scientific writing and reasoning, the space race between global powers, space travel and colonization, and the promise and pitfalls of interspecies and interspace communication. A planetary perspective, once achieved, can change the way one sees other inhabitants of this planet - as partners in survival in a universe which sets enormous odds against it, or as unwelcome intruders grasping for scant resources within this thin epidermis of soil, air, and water which surrounds Earth and makes our lives possible.
66-127 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Environmental Justice
Fall: 9 units
Wondering what the "Green New Deal" proposal is about? Does it seem like you have to choose between protecting people and protecting the planet? How does environmentalism connect to struggles over social justice and human rights? This first-year interdisciplinary seminar is an introduction to the Grand Challenge: Environmental Justice. In Giovanna de Chiro's words, the environmental justice movement is working "toward building diverse, dynamic, and powerful coalitions to address the world's most pressing social and environmental crises global poverty and global climate change by organizing across scales and 'seeking a global vision' for healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities." In this seminar, we'll study the history and science behind two interconnected challenges for environmental justice: global climate change and fine-particulate air pollution. Both types of pollution start with combustion of fossil fuels. Particulate air pollution kills roughly 7 million globally each year; these air pollution deaths happen close to the source, with unequal levels of exposure and risk for people according to class and race. Climate change, mostly from carbon dioxide and methane emissions, is spread globally and lasts well beyond our lifetimes, yet the effects are again disproportionately based on class and race. In this course, we'll explore the science, history, ethics, and public perception of these problems, with implications for Pittsburgh and the planet, and for the near- and long-term future.
66-128 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Palestinian and Israeli Food Cultures
Spring: 9 units
In a region beset by conflict, how do food cultures allow us to approach cultural intersections and connections? This course is designed to provide students with a historical, cultural, and linguistic understanding of the hybrid nature of Jewish and Arab cultures, and the multiple ethnic contributions to local food cultures in Israel and Palestine. The two instructors, from the fields of Jewish history and Arabic Studies, will introduce students to the history, literature, film, and languages of the region, as well as to critical scholarship on food and foodways in the Palestinian and Israeli context. Students will have the opportunity to engage in cooking either locally or in Philadelphia - subject to travel restrictions - and to learn from Michael Solomonov and Reem Kassis, two award-winning US-based celebrity chefs and authors of Israeli and Palestinian cook books respectively. Throughout the semester we will also host a range of guest speakers who will deliver lectures on our course topic in the classroom and in the community.
66-131 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Culture, Sports, and Conflict in/and VR
Intermittent: 9 units
Sports have been celebrated for bringing people together; yet, sports have also been a locus of tensions and conflict that most of us only experience from the sidelines. We understand sports, the people, and their cultural impact through the stories that we tell about them in such places as museums, stadium tours, and Halls of Fame as well as in books, documentaries, and podcasts. Through immersive technologies, these stories are brought to life and bring fans to the heart of the action. In this course, students and faculty together will seek to achieve two main objectives: (1) examine ways in which cultural and societal values are reflected in sports and (2) how Virtual Reality (VR) technology can help design experiences that enhance the users' awareness of these issues by engaging with these cultural and societal perspectives. Within project teams, we will first unpack sports stories that are squarely situated at the crossroads of sports and culture(s). Then we will explore the role of VR technology to help craft these narratives. In doing so, students will discover what it means to write stories for VR experiences. The course will culminate in students proposing an immersive experience about a sports conflict of their choice.
66-132 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Health in Unhealthy Times
Intermittent: 9 units
We live in times when health is a major global concern, whether we worry about the increase in Covid-19 cases, await our immunization, strive to understand the disproportionate impact of the disease on BIPOC populations, or debate mitigation measuresnot to mention ongoing concerns with common chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease, depression, anxiety, etc.. Health, or lack thereof, has always been a critical part of the human experience, and it is fundamentally impacted by different human experiences. This seminar will introduce students to the scientific aspects of health, its political and social determinants, ethical constraints, historical roots, as well as to the cultural and communicative skills required to dialogue about health, make decisions, and engage empathically with others in their health stories. We will read and discuss a broad variety of materials from medical science articles to social psychological experimental reports and personal or literary narratives about health. The course is divided into three components: health and preventative behaviors, managing chronic health challenges, and coping with disruptive health experiences. We believe these components can represent a broad array of interest and engage students on a personal level.
66-133 DC Grand Challenge Seminar: We're Not Beyond Race: Race and Identity in America
Spring: 9 units
Race matters. How have social institutions and historical factors led to the belief systems and stereotypes that shape how race is experienced in American society, and how do these belief systems affect the way individuals come to view and define themselves and others? This course considers how race and identity affect people's lived experiences - how they think, feel, and act - in America. In this course, we will examine the structural and systemic origins of the racial status quo, as well as the way that individuals navigate the social and racial landscape of modern-day America. Including insights from psychology, literature, economics, sociology, and history, the course will focus on how race matters at both a societal level and an individual level. We will consider different racial situations throughout American society to understand how individuals navigate and experience race and identity. Throughout the course, we will watch films, read literature, and analyze music and art that reflect the experience of race and identity.
66-134 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Native Americas: Facts and Fictions
Intermittent: 9 units
How did Indigenous people respond to the challenges of populating the American hemisphere and creating complex, diverse and dynamic cultures, languages and political entities? How did they survive, adapt to, and resist the conquest and colonization of their lands, and ensuing social and cultural dislocations? How have they resurged politically, culturally, artistically and intellectually in recent years? This course considers the history, experiences, and perspectives of native populations across the Americas. It seeks to reckon with the facts of the Native American experience, while challenging the fictions of stereotypes and narratives that have often relegated Indigenous people to the social and cultural margins of the nations in which they now live. After introducing students to a few of the myriad Indigenous groups of North, Central and South America, we will then survey the implications of the era of European conquest and colonization. Well consider the implications of the rise of new nations in the Americas, as new and intensifying campaigns of violence were unleashed against Indigenous populations. We will consider the rise of Native American civil rights and political and cultural sovereignty movements from the late 20th century forward, as they coalesced into major political challenges to native marginalization and demands for recognition and reparation of historical injustices. Finally, we will explore how contemporary Indigenous artists, authors, and political and social activists are reimagining indigeneity (the condition and experience of being Indigenous) in ways that demonstrate how indigeneity is not a fixed kind of identity, not one that is confined or defined in any way by a static conception of tradition, but rather one that challenges the present and reimagines the future in dynamic and creative ways.
66-136 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Becoming Resilient in Challenging Times
Spring: 9 units
What does it mean to be resilient—emotionally, relationally, and collectively—in the face of disruption, uncertainty, or change? In this course, we define resilience as an intersectional capacity of individuals, communities, and systems to adapt, recover, and grow in response to adversity, disruption, or change—drawing on psychological, social, ecological, and artistic resources to sustain well-being and support transformation. We'll explore these layers through the lens of graphic storytelling, using comics and visual narratives to examine stories of wellness, identity, trauma, and individual/ collective recovery across cultural contexts. Drawing from works originally written in English or Spanish (all readings available in English), we'll explore how artists use color, composition, symbolism, and visual form to surface what is often left unsaid in conversations about health and healing. Students will analyze how visual techniques express resilience across race, geography, and sociocultural systems—and will experiment to create their own graphic narratives using comic-making tools and artistic strategies. Emphasis will be placed on storytelling as both personal reflection and public advocacy. The course includes hands-on projects and community-facing components: students will collaborate to design community-engaged projects—such as school visits, public showcases, or partnerships with local organizations—to share and expand the impact of their work. Through reading, making, and sharing stories, students will develop artistic, critical, and civic tools for imagining a more connected and compassionate future.
66-137 DC Grand Challenge Seminar: Causes and Consequences of Health Disparities
Spring: 9 units
Why do some people live well into their nineties while others are more likely to die at an earlier age? The answer to this question can be more complex than one might think. Life expectancy can be influenced by a host of individual and population-level factors. This course is designed to critically examine the social factors research has found to impact individual and population health experiences. This course will introduce students to the multiple approaches to researching the complex problem of health disparities in the United States with particular emphasis on perspectives from the social sciences and humanities. Specifically, students will examine how factors such as socioeconomic status, education, crime, housing, health care and food availability play important roles in the production of disparate health. Students will examine psychological factors that can create disparate health experiences and the impact of such disparities on psychological health. We will address health disparities at the individual and population levels, learning how disparate health experiences are historically and socially produced, and how such disparities produce negative physical and mental health outcomes for individuals and minoritized populations. At the end of the course, students will present a collaborative group project that examines a specific facet of US health disparities and offer a proposed solution. Using a multi- disciplinary perspective, we will challenge students to discover just how important seemly unimportant interpersonal and structural factors can be in explaining health disparities and how important it is for society to take measures to address these disparities.
66-140 Grand Challenge Seminar: Equitable Access and Success in Higher Education at CMU
Spring: 9 units
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action have reignited the debate about equitable access to higher education. Affirmative action has been challenged many times, which highlights the complex nature of providing equitable access to higher education in a society that is not "equal" on many measures. Students from historically marginalized communities are often at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing higher education. Even those who are admitted to college may not have the tools or resources to succeed. Throughout its history, and especially since the 1960s, Carnegie Mellon has undertaken multiple initiatives to provide equitable education to underserved populations. This course explores these initiatives, both past and present, as well as the broader debates about affirmative action. As a highly selective institution, CMU serves as an important case study for exploring the challenges and opportunities for achieving equitable access and success in higher education. This course will focus on two CMU programs aimed to address the problem of inequitable education, namely SCOPP and CMAP/CMARC. We will draw on primary sources from the CMU Archives and students will be asked to analyze these sources using historical and linguistic approaches. We are interested in exploring how the language used in discussions of affirmative action and student identities changes over time and in response to different historical factors. Students will collaboratively engage with primary source material to develop a final creative project that considers the history of various affirmative action initiatives at CMU and makes connections between these earlier efforts and today's programs. Class meetings will consist of group discussion and small activities as well as guest speakers. Outside of class, students will complete readings, written assignments, reflections, and a collaborative project.
66-141 DC Grand Challenge Seminar: Freedom of Speech & Academic Freedom
Intermittent: 9 units
This Grand Challenge course offers a comprehensive exploration of the principles, controversies, and significance of Freedom of Speech (FOS) and Academic Freedom (AF). By exploring actual and hypothetical cases, students will analyze the complex dilemmas that arise when we try to balance two interests: maximizing freedom of expression and creating an inclusive, respectful community. By engaging a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and methods of inquiry from philosophy, history, psychology, law, etc., students will examine how different policies and norms impact these competing interests and vice versa. Students will practice informed and constructive dialogue within the seminar to facilitate independent thought, rigorous inquiry, and how to discuss difficult topics productively. Course topics will include: - the rights and responsibilities involved in FOS for both individuals and institutions, - the history and current state of the law with respect to FOS, - the history and state of university policies and practices about AF for research and education, including scholarship, artistic freedom, teaching, in particular trigger warnings, safe spaces, censorship, protest, and controversial outside speakers, - developmental perspectives on how children learn about freedom of expression, - FOS in advertising, media, and social media, including recommendation algorithms. The broader goal is to empower students to become informed, responsible, and productive members of Carnegie Mellon's transformative university community.
66-144 DC Grand Challenge Seminar: In Transit: Exile, Migration, and Culture
Spring: 9 units
The world is currently experiencing the worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II. Large numbers of people are forced from home for political, personal, or racial reasons, and many others leave home because of grinding poverty and need. Conflicts about the mass migration provoked by this crisis have emerged all over the globe, from the United States, Latin America, and Europe, to Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and even Oceania. Writers, filmmakers, and artists have attempted to address the plight of refugees and migrants in their works, and many writers, filmmakers, and other artists are themselves refugees or migrants. Pittsburgh has a unique institution, City of Asylum, whose mission is to assist and advocate for persecuted writers and other artists. It hosts the largest residency program in the world for writers living in exile under threat of persecution or worse: death. The goal of this Grand Challenge Seminar is (1) to familiarize students with todays plight of refugees (e.g., social, political, economic factors; cross-cultural comparisons; dynamics of class, race, gender, and nationality), and (2) introduce them to a variety of textual (literary and theoretical) and visual materials and to the resources available through City of Asylum. Through readings, discussions, guest speakers, short papers, and group film projects/presentations, students will examine the ways in which writers, filmmakers, musicians, and other artists have addressed exile and migration in their work by constructing, revising, and reinventing images and cultures of the homeland. Students will explore a variety of texts (e.g., films, documentaries, art, music, photography; prose, poems, and presentations by exiled artists; archival materials; news reports, articles) and meet with and interview exiled writers and other artists.
66-146 DC 1st Year Seminar: From Pandemics to Politics: Modeling Complex Social Systems
Fall: 9 units
Most of the major issues confronting humanity-such as injustice, discrimination, climate change, financial collapse, ecosystem survival, and disease epidemics-are the result of complex social systems. Such systems have multiple interacting parts that create a whole that is radically different than its constituent parts. Unfortunately, traditional scientific methods that focus on reducing systems to their parts and then analyzing each part provide little insight into complex systems. In this seminar, we will explore the behavior of complex social systems including issues such as discrimination and injustice. We will examine how to model and understand social issues using various tools such as computation and game theory, and various field perspectives including economics, finance, philosophy, political science, and sociology. As part of this class, students will collaborate in teams to develop their own models of social processes.
66-147 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: (Mis)Trust in Research
Fall: 9 units
Why is there declining public trust in research and expertise? What kinds of skills are needed to assess the quality of research, and how prevalent are they in the general public? Finally, what can experts do to address the erosion of trust in research? This course will allow students to investigate the various causes of declining trust in research, such as data manipulation, plagiarism, and conflicts of interest in how research is funded, among others. We will explore the various disciplinary perspectives on research validity, and compare and contrast these with public perspectives on research validity. Along the way, students will be introduced to evidence synthesis methodology, a broad research approach that allows researchers to assess large bodies of literature and find points of consensus in any topic area such as climate change, vaccines, economic inequality, etc. Students will work in teams to formulate their research questions on a topic of their selection and then conduct evidence synthesis projects related to (mis)trust in that research area. The evidence synthesis project will have multiple stages of design and implementation and culminate in a final presentation of their findings as to how trust in research can be improved.
66-148 Introduction to Community Engagement
Intermittent: 3 units
This course is designed to prepare students to actively and thoughtfully engage in their community. Students will evaluate various models for community engagement and community-based leadership and examine ethical and social justice issues related to college and university involvement in the community. Through course discussions and direct engagement with community leaders, students will develop the ability to consider multiple perspectives, demonstrate cultural humility and critically reflect to make meaning from experiences. Students will create a plan to infuse community engagement into their academic journey that aligns with their values. This is part of the Dietrich College Community Engagement Fellowship and is only open to students that have been accepted into the program.
66-151 DC Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Equity and the Environment
Fall: 9 units
How does air quality in one city differ from air quality in another? Do citizens have a right to clean air, regardless of where they live? How does global climate change impact the discussion of environmental and human health? The answer to these and other questions about environmental quality are complex and manifest at global and local levels. Access to environmental "justice," that is, the right to a healthy environment, is linked to social factors like race, ethnicity, indigenous identity, income, educational status, and geographic location, among others. By analyzing the case of Pittsburgh, a city in the rust belt and Appalachian region that is working to "reimagine" its environmental identity, students will trace past environmental issues and define current environmental concerns that may manifest both locally and globally. They will use environmental justice as a framework to examine how environmental issues are defined and how policies are created and enacted when different voices are included. Students will explore these topics as they relate to multiple sectors (e.g., air and water quality, agriculture, industry, transportation, architecture) and environmental impacts like human physical and mental health or global climate change. Students will also be introduced to concepts like "sustainable science" and "sustainable humanities," and study how environmental problems and solutions are framed in different cultures, communities, and academic disciplines ranging from science to social science and art.
66-152 Dietrich College Grand Challenge Seminar: Gender: Contemporary Issues
Intermittent: 9 units
In recognition of the ubiquity of gender in politics, this course fosters a constructive dialogue on several contemporary debates on issues of gender. These issues will be addressed from a multi-disciplinary perspective, in particular humanistic and social psychological approaches. Varied assessments are included in the course to encourage vigorous engagement with the material, including short paper, debate, journaling, poster, and oral presentation. Students will have opportunities to work collaboratively and individually on projects engaging topics such as intersectionality, single-sex education, reproductive justice, trans issues, and precarious masculinity.

Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/gened/fall-2021-and-beyond/year-1/grand-challenge/index.html
66-156 DC Grand Challenge Seminar - Authorship at Work:The Human Voice in the Age of AI
Intermittent: 9 units
tbd
66-181 Grand Challenge Seminar
Fall and Spring: 9 units
In their firm desire to perfect the new Constitution, which defined and limited the powers and roles of their new government, the founding fathers insisted on explicit statements that would protect the rights of the new nation's citizens. Indeed, the protection of these essential rights in many ways drove and defined their successful rebellion from Britain. This impulse resulted in ten amendments to the Constitution, which we have come to know as the Bill of Rights. The very first (and arguably considered at the time as the most essential) of these was the First Amendment, which we sometimes call the "free speech" amendment to the Constitution. This amendment guarantees every U.S. citizen five freedoms: freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceable assembly, and the freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances. This course examines the historical and philosophical roots of this key constitutional amendment, how it has been fleshed out and defined over time through case law, and the bases of some more recent critics of this amendments and current interpretations.
66-182 Grand Challenges Seminar: Preserving History with Blockchain Technology
Spring: 9 units
Historical information, artifacts, and relics provide a window to our past and help us understand our present and foresee and prepare for the future. During times of conflict and internecine warfare, it is essential to preserve objects of historical and cultural heritage. Blockchain is a block of data chained together. It does three noteworthy things: 1. digitization, 2. tracing, and 3. security. For any non-digital historical data, Blockchain can provide digitization. For any data that requires tracing, such as scientific findings, religious information, or scriptures (including Hadith/sayings of the Prophet (s)), so on, tracing can play a pivotal role in going back to the originator and understanding the change on the way, as well as preserving it from any changes (which is part of security). Blockchain also involves a mining process, which includes stakeholders that audit the information of any newly added block of data, making Blockchain auditable, which is significant for history. Using topics from blockchain technology, history, preservation, and science, this course provides students with the grand challenge of understanding how bitcoin and cryptocurrency can assist in providing potential solutions to the problems of authorship, impermanence, managing shared ownership, and stewardship of artifacts taken through war or colonialism. Many institutions and archives are considering and advocating the merits of blockchain-based repositories. In this Grand Challenge course, we want to examine how the seemingly opposed fields of study - history and blockchain technology - can be synergized to create a futuristic museum that captures monuments and artifacts, making them accessible to future generations.
66-195 Documenting Israeli and Palestinian Food Cultures: Teaching and Travel
Spring: 9 units
How does the study of food cultures allow us to approach cultural intersections, conflict, and peacemaking, especially in a region as fraught as Israel and Palestine? This course, cotaught by CMU faculty in the departments of History, Modern Languages, and the Entertainment Technology Center, is designed to provide students with a historical and cultural background about the hybrid nature of Jewish and Palestinian-Arab cultures and the multiple ethnic contributions to food cultures in Israel/Palestine, as well as with media-tech skills, with the aim of preparing them for travel to Israel and the West Bank during Spring Break 2023. In the weeks leading up to the trip, the professors will introduce students to the history, literature, film, and language(s) of the region, as well as to critical scholarship in food studies. Students will also begin developing and creating their own personal narrative experience in the media of their choice. During the trip, students will participate in documenting local food cultures through film and other media. Upon their return, they will work on the production of a collaborative multi-layered interactive documentary (iDoc) meant to capture their first-hand experiences with local and regional cuisine practices in Israel and the West Bank, and present separate small group final projects based on these experiences. Specific course themes will include: the shared history of Arabs and Jews from the rise of Islam to Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) and the Ottoman Empire to the modern and contemporary history of the Arab-Israeli conflict; the history of Sephardi, Ashkenazi, and Mizrahi Jewish immigration and contributions to Israeli cuisine; Palestinian identity, culinary traditions and gendered aspects of food practices; the politics of food; and Palestinian and Jewish voices in literary contexts. To apply to be considered for this course, go to course website.

Course Website: https://forms.gle/UbixDaA9xCBhNaoP8
66-215 The Innovation Trials
Fall: 9 units
This course will examine some of the most influential intellectual property court battles throughout history and their impact on innovation. This course is geared toward students curious about Americas industrial development and interested in the political and business strategies behind the greatest innovations and technological advances of the past several centuries. The course will answer the who, what, where, when, why and how of a number of legal cases involving various technologies and areas of innovation and place them in their historical context.
66-216 Connecting with the Pittsburgh Community
Spring: 6 units
This course is designed to engage students in an exploration of various communities within the Pittsburgh area. Students will examine the ways that local organizers have been able to effectively promote positive social change. Students will develop the ability to honor the histories of diverse communities in the region while learning about the communities and the ingredients of successful communities. This course is part of the Dietrich College Community Engagement Fellowship and is only open to students who have been accepted into the program.
Prerequisite: 66-148
66-219 Purposeful Negotiation
Intermittent: 4.5 units
Negotiation is part of our daily lives. The opportunities to become a more thoughtful and skillful negotiator can have big impacts. This course is designed to immerse students in practical activities, building skills that can be used immediately for everything from managing equitable group work in teams to negotiating salaries. The course will introduce key theories of negotiation, including distributive bargaining and interest-based negotiation. Students will learn how to plan a negotiation, incorporate their values into negotiations, interact with different parties, and adjust their planned strategy as they learn more about the conditions and context. They will also learn to select and apply appropriate tactics based on the relationships involved and the outcomes they aim to achieve. Students will have opportunities to reflect individually and collectively to assess the results of their negotiations in order to become effective negotiators in personal and professional contexts.
66-221 Topics of Law: Introduction to Intellectual Property Law
Intermittent: 9 units
Topics for this course vary, to include such foci as intellectual property, introduction to U.S. law, great American trials, and the U.S. Constitution. Topics and courses are designed to be broadly relevant and interesting for university undergraduates, and not narrowly tailored for students interested in law school.
66-226 Law and Literature
Intermittent: 9 units
This course offers a real-time understanding of significant legal issues that undergraduates, including those who might be considering careers in law, need to know about. Even those not specifically interested in law will benefit from the medium we use, which is that of imaginative fiction. Scenes from stories (and some films and popular culture media) that deal with law provoke our discussions, including well known trial scenes (MERCHANT OF VENICE [Shakespeare], BILLY BUDD SAILOR [Melville]), portraits of men and women in the profession of law (GREAT EXPECTATIONS [Dickens], THE FALL [Camus], "A Jury of Her Peers" [Glaspell]; and narratives that show how the rhetoric of law sometimes fails to grasp the problems of less powerful communities (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD [Lee]; THE FIXER [Malamud]. Students will want to read these and other stories, and to screen films and TV shows about law, with some care, so the course always links the skill of reading well with the policies of a sound approach to the institutions of power. There is no final exam, but there will be a final paper of the student's choosing as discussed with the instructor, and other shorter responsibilities during the semester. The instructor will work closely on each student's writing skills as the semester proceeds. Richard Weisberg has taught both law and English Literature for many years, has practiced law in New York and in federal court, has been an appointee of Pres. Obama, and has been awarded the French Legion of Honor for his work on behalf of the human rights of World War II victims of French racial and religious laws.
66-236 Introduction to Environmental Ideas
Fall and Spring: 9 units
By recognizing that environmental problems are themselves complex and require insights from both scientific and social perspectives, the University-wide Minor in Environmental Studies urges students to gain proficiency in different disciplinary habits of thinking about environmental problems. This course fulfills a requirement for the University-wide Minor in Environmental Studies. This course will introduce students from any undergraduate major at CMU to key methods and approaches for inquiry in the framework of Environmental Studies. Students will build up their ability to recognize and apply diagnostic criteria; understand key principles and terms; and take part in an informed discussion about ways of seeing, and creating interventions for environmental problems as social and scientific challenges. There are no pre-requisites for this course. Students will develop skills and apply concepts to different scenarios of environmental crisis. Preference for course registration goes to students already declared for the Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies.
66-237 Interdisciplinary Dialogues for Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Spring: 3 units
Environmental scholar S. Ravi Rajan describes the communication barriers between disciplines, and the dire consequences of not communicating, in scenarios where complex problems ought to be solved by "all hands on deck." Rajan explains that technical jargon and disciplinary habits are important for each group within a discipline; however, technical concepts and keywords can create barriers between disciplines, and also a barrier between researchers and the public at large. Failure of interdisciplinary communication is a common theme for researchers who ask, "Why don’t we listen to each other more, in pursuit of our common goal?" The goal of this course is to encourage practices of listening, and learning to ask questions, about diverse areas of disciplinary research addressing environmental and sustainability problems. Four CMU experts from Arts, Architecture, Design, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Business, Economics, and/or Policy will share their work and their insights. We will emphasize the importance of listening, while paying attention to skills for the interpretation of technical, professional, and disciplinary aspects of research related to environment and sustainability.
66-300 Using Collective Leadership to Pursue Community Goals
Fall
This course serves as the third required course in the Dietrich College Community Engagement Fellowship. This course is designed to further prepare students to actively and thoughtfully engage alongside a community focusing on a topic of the students choice. This course will bring together prior topics of cultural humility, asset-based framing, cultural competence, and community-based leadership models alongside additional topics (such as collective leadership, tailored community-focused communication, among others) responsive to their community-based learning experiences. This will prepare students to narrow their focus on a topic and community in preparation for their capstone project.
Prerequisites: 66-216 and 66-148
66-307 Independent Study
All Semesters
This course is intended for students with a special interest in an interdisciplinary area in the humanities and/or social sciences not covered by a normal course. Readings and other works are developed by the student and an individual faculty member. The number of units will be assigned at the time of registration based on the number of hours to be completed (decided in advance with the sponsoring faculty member).
66-310 Reflecting on Experiential Learning
All Semesters: 1 unit
This asynchronous course is used to fulfill the Dietrich College General Education Experiential Learning requirement. Experiential Learning occurs when a student participates in an opportunity that allows them to apply what they are learning in the classroom to a real-world context. This may include internships, undergraduate research with a faculty member, community engaged learning, study abroad or work-based learning through structured consulting projects. This course serves as a complement to an experiential learning activity and students enrolled are expected to engage in critical reflections about their experience. Registration is by permission-only; contact the Experiential Learning Team at dietrichexperiential@andrew.cmu.edu
66-320 Dietrich College Internship
All Semesters
Internships-for-credit allow students to apply course-based knowledge in a non-classroom setting, under joint supervision and evaluation by an on-site supervisor and a faculty sponsor. Approved internships must conform to college guidelines for internships-for-credit, and are available by permission only arranged through the Director of Experiential Learning, Baker Hall 160. Interested students should contact dietrichexperiential@andrew.cmu.edu.
66-400 Dietrich College Senior Honors Colloquium
Fall: 1 unit
The purpose of this course is to provide students admitted to the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program with a shared set of intellectual and practical sessions that will enhance their senior honors thesis experience. The course will consist of seven bi-weekly 80-minute meetings. Each will be organized around a theme and related topics that are relevant to the senior honors thesis experience, and that take advantage of both the high caliber and interdisciplinary diversity of the course members. Guest visitors will also be a common feature of the course. Topics could include: the meaning(s) of "honors;" getting started and keeping pace: the ebb and flow of an independent research project (including how to recognize and avoid procrastination; forging a successful relationship with your thesis advisor - the myth of the separation of research from writing; writing for publication); ethics in research; "interdisciplinarity," or the "unity of knowledge;" funding for research; preparing for and delivering effective presentations; intellectual property rights, and human subjects policy. Guest speakers invited to address and engage class members in discussion/debate of topics that lend themselves to interdisciplinary discussion and debate (e.g., stem cell research, which calls into play science, ethics, etc.). Course requirements will include mandatory attendance, occasional readings (where appropriate), acting as co-leader for at least one session, and - at course's end - (a) a written, formal preliminary thesis statement and action plan, endorsed by the thesis advisor, and tentatively, (b) a brief oral presentation of the thesis statement and plan to the class + thesis advisors during the last class meeting. All students will participate in critiques of fellow-students' presentations and plans.
66-402 Dietrich Leadership Development Seminar
Fall and Spring: 9 units
The Dietrich Leadership Development Seminar is for juniors and seniors in Dietrich College wishing to advance their understanding of leadership theory and practice and to develop their own skills in this regard, while creating a context for their lifelong leadership development. The course is predicated on a six pillar model proposing that ideal leaders must at once be visionary, ethical, engaging, tactical, technical - including sub-expert conversancy in realms beyond their own expertise, and reflective - including both personal mindfulness and assessment against clear metrics. In this context, the course includes a focus on strategic planning, teamwork, cultural awareness, conflict resolution, risk management, sustainability and personal welfare, professionalism, personal financial planning, and ongoing professional development. The course includes an attendance requirement and active engagement in class discussion, assigned readings/videos/podcasts (2 hours/week), self-selected experiential opportunities (2 hours/week), reflective journaling (2 hours/week), three hour-long one:ones per semester with the instructor, special guests who are leaders in various occupational and service domains, a mid-term, a final, and a final presentation. The course includes case studies and role plays to amplify the learning experience. The course is limited to twelve students, with registration based on approval of the faculty member.
66-403 Community Engagement Fellowship Capstone
Spring
This course serves as the final component of the Dietrich College Community Engagement Fellowship and is designed to engage students in completion of their culminating project. The course will build on students' work in the previous semester in which they identified a community, established an understanding of the community goals and proposed a plan to pursue one of these goals. During the semester, students will implement their capstone project utilizing the knowledge and skills developed during earlier stages of the program. Working with a mentor who is also a community stakeholder, students will implement their project, solicit feedback from the community, evaluate project effectiveness and make appropriate changes. Students will also articulate ways their project can be sustained and present their findings to a variety of audiences.
Prerequisites: 66-216 and 66-148 and 66-300
66-501 H&SS Senior Honors Thesis I
Fall and Spring: 9 units
This sequence is open only to those seniors who have been admitted to the H and amp;SS Senior Honors Program. This is the first semester of a two-semester sequence that culminates in an original, year-long independent research or creative project. Thesis topics are selected by faculty and students.

Course Website: http://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/undergraduate/programs/shp/index.html
66-502 H&SS Senior Honors Thesis II
Fall and Spring: 9 units
This sequence is open only to those seniors who have been admitted to the H and amp;SS Senior Honors Program. This second semester course is the culmination of an original, year-long independent research project. Research topics are selected by faculty and students.
Prerequisite: 66-501
Course Website: http://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/undergraduate/programs/shp/index.html
66-503 Dietrich College Senior Honors Thesis
All Semesters: 18 units
This course is a one-semester alternative to the two-semester Dietrich College Senior Honors Thesis sequence 66-501/66-502. The course is open only to students who have been approved for entry into the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program, and whose senior honors thesis project has been approved as a one-semester undertaking. Thesis topics are selected by faculty and students, and reviewed and approved through the senior honors program application process. The thesis culminates in an original independent research or creative project. Dietrich College senior honors students are also required to participate in the annual Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research Symposium, offering either an oral presentation or poster session based on their senior honors thesis.
66-504 Senior Capstone I
All Semesters: 9 units
This course is restricted to students who have prior authorization from the Dietrich Dean's Office, i.e. students who are pursuing an approved student-defined major (primary or additional) through Dietrich College, students who are completing an interdisciplinary capstone for their program, or students fulfilling their Experiential Learning requirement through an interdisciplinary capstone. Student-defined majors (primary or additional): must complete a senior capstone project for at least 9 units (in one semester), or 18 units across both semesters of the senior year. The capstone project culminates in an original independent research or creative project that draws on all of the strands of the student's particular student-defined program. This course (66-504) is the first in a two-course capstone sequence open only to seniors who have been admitted to the Dietrich College Student-Defined Program as a primary or additional major, and who choose the two-semester capstone sequence option. The second course in the sequence is 66-505, Senior Capstone II. Projects are proposed by eligible students, and must be approved by a member of the faculty who agrees to be the project's primary advisor, as well as by the Dietrich College Student-Defined Program Director. These approvals must be secured no later than registration week of the semester prior to the start of the student's senior year. NOTE: For Dietrich College student-defined majors (primary or additional) who are accepted into the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program and who successfully complete a senior honors thesis based primarily on their student-defined major, the senior honors thesis fulfills the student-defined major capstone requirement.
66-505 Senior Capstone II
All Semesters: 9 units
Dietrich College student-defined majors (primary or additional) must complete a senior capstone project for at least 9 units (in one semester), or 18 units across both semesters of the senior year. The capstone project culminates in an original independent research or creative project that draws on all of the strands of the student's particular student-defined program. This course (66-505) is the second in the two-course capstone sequence, and is open only to seniors who have been admitted to the Dietrich College Student-Defined Program as a primary or additional major, and who have chosen the two-semester capstone option. The first course in the sequence is 66-504, Senior Capstone I. Projects are proposed by eligible students, and must be approved by a member of the faculty who agrees to be the project's primary advisor, as well as by the Dietrich College Student-Defined Program Director. These approvals must be secured no later than registration week of the semester prior to the start of the student's senior year. NOTE: For Dietrich College student-defined majors (primary or additional) who are accepted into the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program and who successfully complete a senior honors thesis based primarily on their student-defined major, the senior honors thesis fulfills the student-defined major capstone requirement.
66-506 Senior Capstone
All Semesters: 9 units
Dietrich College student-defined majors (primary or additional) must complete a senior capstone project for at least 9 units (in one semester), or 18 units usually spread across both semesters of the senior year. The capstone project culminates in an original independent research or creative project that draws on all of the strands of the student's particular student-defined program. This course is a one-semester option for student-defined majors who propose a 9-unit/one-semester capstone project; it is also an 18-unit/one-semester alternative to the two-semester Senior Capstone sequence (66-504/66-505) for Dietrich College student-defined majors who choose the 18-unit capstone option, but who are unable to spread these units across both semesters of the senior year. The course is open only to seniors who have been admitted to the Dietrich College Student-Defined Program as either a primary or additional major. Projects and unit values are proposed by eligible students, and must be approved by a member of the faculty who agrees to be the project's primary advisor, as well as by the Dietrich College Student-Defined Program Director. These approvals must be secured no later than registration week of the semester prior to the start of the student's senior year. NOTE: For Dietrich College student-defined majors (primary or additional) who are accepted into the Dietrich College Senior Honors Program and who successfully complete a senior honors thesis, the senior honors thesis fulfills the student-defined major capstone requirement.
66-507 Capstone for Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Fall: 9 units
This undergraduate research course is designed to give students a venue to develop skills for interdisciplinary research in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. The purpose of this undergraduate research capstone is to: 1) Create a sense of community for students pursuing research in interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Studies. 2) Provide guidance for student research projects in interdisciplinary Environmental and Sustainability Studies. As part of this course, students will set, define, and meet milestones for an undergraduate-level interdisciplinary research project in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. By meeting and presenting milestones and end-of-session products to peers and faculty, students will understand more about their own disciplinary and interdisciplinary engagements with Environmental and Sustainability Studies, and also learn to articulate their unique strengths in an interdisciplinary group setting.
Prerequisite: 66-236
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