Learn the basics of improvisation and saying "yes"! All levels of experience are welcome and no arts background is needed or required. Improv is all about saying "yes" to opportunity and thinking on your feet: both which are important in every field!

All things are designed. Whether it's by a human or by nature, every object, every system, every THING has an aesthetic and functional design to it. In this course, you'll learn the basics to intuitively understanding and analyzing all the beautiful, ugly, and mediocre designs around you.

Large ladies warble while audience members doze off: if the idea of opera makes you more confused than excited, take this intro! This course will teach you how to tap into the 400-year-old history of opera and how to enjoy watching opera like a movie. Free opera tickets will be offered to exceptional students. Everyone is welcome—musicians, artists, actors and preferably those who know nothing about opera!

Were Christopher Robin, Tigger, and Piglet real? Why and when did A.A. Milne write Winnie the Pooh? This class will explore the history of this children's classic, both in a historical context and on a broader scale. We will gain an understanding of the significance of children's literature by learning about the beauty--and the dangers-- of writing about such timeless themes.

Stand Up as an art requires a certain degree of wit, honesty, and grit; that's all for prerequisites! In this workshop, we will explore a couple of different forms of stand up along with some exercises to get those comedic juices flowing. This course will be a collaborative, open experience, where we can bounce jokes off each other and develop premises for comedy gold. The goal: everyone can leave the room ready to write a first three-minute set!


Prerequisites
not taking yourself or prerequisites too seriously ("winkyface" - my keyboard broke)

Sometimes, the best way to relieve stress isn’t through ripping paper or crying, but through accomplishing something. I’ve found the best way to handle stress is through making something pretty: origami! The paper is patterned, the finished product is delicate and refined, and it’s nice to know that it’s possible to create something as lovely as an origami structure. If there’s enough time, we’ll learn how to create cranes, a blow-up box, and/or a boat. No previous skill or experience necessary!

In this class, we will focus on the dilemmas between liberty and justice that modern democratic states face in making state policy. We will discuss how states should make policies in cases where pursuing justice would infringe on individual liberties as well as exactly what liberties and justice are. We will then talk about cases like naming children, restricting sugar content in fast food, smoking regulations, circumcision, and the banning of religious headwear.

In this class, we will spend time covering major philosophical issues in education. This ranges from policy issues like the charter school debate and affirmative action to pertinent philosophical paradigms like equality versus equity. Students interested in better understanding their own position in education and society should take the class. This will be a heavy discussion-based class!

In this course, we will learn about the common cognitive biases that affect the way people interact with each other in society. Discussion topics will include what makes up (and breaks down) how people act, think, believe, and react.

We hear a lot about different types of rights when we talk about justice, law, and even relationships. What exactly are these things that are rights? Who gives them, and who can take them away? What are the different types and categories and what makes them so? We'll discuss rights such as the right to vote, the right to remain in a country, the right to life, the right to someone else's property or work, the right to get revenge or just compensation, and more!

People often confuse what is legally obligated and what is morally obligated. This causes a lot of confusion when discusses personal ethics and morals and their relation to the law. It also causes confusion when legal rules and procedures are taken as moral obligations. We'll discuss the different between moral and legal obligations, when, if, and how they relate, and of course, if it's ever moral to break the law!

For as long as humans have existed, we've debated the existence and properties of a higher being. The arguments in favor of believing in God range from probabilistic accounts (Pascal's Wager), empirical accounts (Design Theory), rational accounts (Aquinas and Causation), experiential accounts (Al-Ghazali on Mysticism), and many more. In this class, we'll go through some of the most popular arguments in favor of believing in God and try to see which, if any, we find convincing!

It's legal to make a meme out of a piece of modern art, but it's illegal to sell an exact copy. It's legal to dance to music in a club, but sharing a video of you dancing can earn you a million-dollar fine. Although copyright law governs modern life, it is often opaque and seemingly paradoxical. This class will cover the history and legal reasoning behind some of these paradoxes, the ways in which copyright law has changed over time, and how you can defend yourself from the dangers of the modern copyright landscape.

Originating in 13th century Italy, the sonnet is one of the oldest poetic forms. From Shakespeare's intimate love sonnets to the contemporary, political sonnets of Terrance Hayes, we will investigate the rich history and present of this poetic form. The course will focus on Shakespeare along with a diverse group of contemporary American poets (Terrence Hayes, Cathy Park Hong).

It's 3am. You're stuffing chips into your mouth. "Vines that cured my depression" plays loudly on your phone as your homework collects dust in the corner. Ever wondered why you can’t seem to break some of these unhealthy habits? Well, you’re human, just like everyone else. Learn from your local Harvard student, someone who’s both failed and succeeded tremendously, at how to create and manage healthy habits. We’ll break down the psychology behind procrastination and motivation and give you real tips and tricks to actually achieve your 2019 New Year's Resolutions. This class will involve psychological manipulation, magic tricks, and a dog. Ok, there won’t actually be dog. Or magic tricks... unless you call habit transformation magical!

This seminar will explore the development of the music industry and how it came to be, from the age of cassettes and CDs to the landscape of digital music, piracy, and streaming services today. We will examine this development through an economic lens, namely through microeconomic concepts such as Demand/Supply, the Theory of the Firm and Market Failure, as well as through Behavioral Economics. We will also explore how individuals and groups try to get their acts off the ground in an ever-competitive industry. The seminar will not only involve learning economic skills and acquiring an economic intuition for viewing seemingly non-economic situations, but also an activity for learning various basic skills in A Cappella, such as singing and beatboxing, through which students will learn about Economic concepts such as opportunity cost and economies of scale.

Come learn about the history of Asians in America and Asian Americans from the first Filipino, Chinese, and Japanese laborers in America to the vast Asian America we have today. Let's explore the newness of the Asian American identity and the intersectionality of ethnic background, gender, immigration histories, sexual identity and economic class in Asian America. We will examine the model minority myth and think about its impacts on the community!

Food, festivities, and sick Latin burns — find out how the Romans carried out their daily activities! This class sets out to demystify the lives of the ancient Romans, humanizing their way of life by comparing it to our own. By the end, I hope you will leave with an appreciation of a unique culture, perhaps even considering it cool.

This lesson will discuss childhood and the stories we’re told when we are young. Using key works in the children’s literature genre across various cultures, we would be able to track the social messages coded in these texts and the ways in which they represent the values and beliefs of a given community. This interdisciplinary "cultural studies" lesson will allow students to debate the moral and philosophical meanings of folkloric texts and to consider the role of popular stories in wider cultural contexts.


Prerequisites
None

Many of the preconceived notions we have of rap music and rap culture are racially charged misconceptions. Although rap culture indeed possesses some potentially insidious issues, overall it is a largely positive force for the Black community at large. This class will outline different aspects of rap culture that affect Black individuals (as the predominant creators and consumers of rap), as well as all consumers of this genre, regardless of their race.

In this course, we will be analyzing the narratives within major rap songs by artists such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Reason, and Meek Mill and see how they tie in to greater backdrop of racial and economic inequality rendered by mass incarceration. We will examine the development of America's prison-industrial complex in both a historical and contemporary context, and tie those impacts into the stories that these incredible rap and hip-hop artists share in their music.

This is a film studies course analyzing the box office hit Crazy Rich Asians, a film which has received its fair share of both praise and criticism. Expanding on the existent popular critique of the film for its focus on a wealthy minority of East Asians that directs attention away from the plight of Asian minorities and those in poverty, this class will explore the cultural norms implicitly and explicitly endorsed by the film.

The main question this class will attempt to answer is whether the film supports and/or promotes an ideal of upper class morality within East Asian communities, not only in itself failing to represent poor Asian communities but also generating a cultural attachment and valorization of the idea of being like a crazy rich Asian. We will attempt to do so by looking at specific scenes from the movie, surveying the field of responses people have about the film, talking through anecdotal experiences, and using theoretical lenses to package all of this qualitative data.


Prerequisites
Preference for students who have watched Crazy Rich Asians

Ever wondered about how all those things in museums came to be there? Have you ever asked yourself what Indiana Jones' job is really like? Do you like dirt? If you answered yes to any of the above, archaeology could be the field for you. In one hour, learn about the myths and realities of archaeology, what it means to dig and discover things in the ground, and how archaeology is relevant to the world today. In this class I would like to show a short (six and a half minute) clip of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", do a basic trash can exercise (dump out a fake trash can collection and have students analyze and reconstruct a history of who created that trash), and discuss the basic concepts, ethics, and subfields of archaeology.

How are policies created and how are they reflections of we, the people--our debates and our stakes in the game? Going beyond "How a Bill Becomes a Law", explore how policies are created through an exploration of charter schools and their controversial policies.


Prerequisites
A general interest in democracy.

In this seminar, we will learn the basics of Slam Poetry, including how to write powerful poetry that expresses your emotions, how to get past writer’s block, and how to perform a piece of poetry in front of an audience. Though this seminar will push you out of your comfort zone and ask you to take chances, you can expect to leave the class with skills on how to best tell your personal story, how to write a convincing argument, and how to fight off stage fright.

What does it mean when people say that art is subjective? And if it is so, is it possible talk about it objectively? How do we find evidence in the abstract? And when does a statement become our own personal opinion? Through a survey of some of the greatest works in history, we attempt to answer these questions and learn how to look at art. We will discuss what is really there, what isn't, and how we can tie this all together to form our own opinions.

Stories are the fundamental building blocks of humanity. From the oral tales passed down from generations, to the hieroglyphs of Egypt, to the far-fetched visions of Star Wars, stories have always served as the vessels of knowledge, wisdom, and entertainment. Creative writing however, is something that most educational curriculums lack.

This class will serve as a primer for students to overcome a few of the classic barriers to creative writing: inspiration, basic conventions, applications, and editing. We will address each barrier with creative methods and strategies which should provide students with material, inspiration, desire, and support to go out and write.

Mathematics as taught in high school is based around solving a few select types of problems, from addition in first grade to integrals in twelfth. This seminar will take a different look at mathematics, asking why the techniques we're taught in school actually work in the first place. We'll then go beyond that to cover some of the techniques that mathematicians are using today to face up to some of the world's hardest problems. Every student will go home with their own mathematical paper of nearly-publishable quality for any academic journal!


Prerequisites
Some mathematical knowledge is necessary -- if you can solve $$x^2-3x+1=0$$, you're fine. Students should be comfortable with abstract concepts.

Why does deadlock rule Congress? Why do scientists say that we can’t solve climate change through individual action alone?

If any of the previous questions intrigue you, come to a crash course on applied game theory! Here, we'll introduce you to the science of strategy, formally known as "Game Theory." We'll see how the forces of game theory shape our society and everyday interactions, using climate change as a case study. Finally, we will talk about how we can use this interdisciplinary knowledge to make change that is not just moral but also effective.


Prerequisites
Comfort with high school level math. Basic algebra is necessary.

How does Snapchat recognize and track our faces? How does the "I am Not a Robot" button know we *really* aren't a robot? How does Google Maps know where heavy traffic is? Come learn about the exciting ideas behind tons of technology applications in our daily lives! We will uncover what phrases like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Computer Vision mean through lots of fun examples, videos, and demonstrations.


Prerequisites
No prior knowledge required! All are welcome. :)

Integer multiplication is a fundamental problem in mathematics, and people have been thinking about how to do it quickly for thousands of years. However, it was not until 1960 that anybody was able to improve on the classical digit-by-digit multiplication technique. We'll discuss Karatsuba's more efficient algorithm and generalize to broader questions in theoretical computer science and algorithms.


Prerequisites
Logarithms and functions

This course will introduce the field of market design, and survey some of its key problems and ideas. Market design or mechanism design, uses ideas in math and engineering to tackle a range of problems in economics and game theory. This course will cover marriage matching markets, auctions, and other foundational examples from the field.


Prerequisites
An appreciation for both math and economics.

Interested in how an idea becomes a user-friendly webpage? In this class, students will be introduced to HTML and work with the instructor to develop their own websites. At the end of the class, students will learn how to use GitHub pages to publish their sites online!

In this class, students will be introduced to the basics of Python by going through the example of writing a program that solves quadratic equations. In the class, the instructor will go over the concepts of variables and variable types, conditional statements, loops, and user input.


Prerequisites
Algebra

The goal of this class is to prove an amazing fact called Lagrange's 4 Square Theorem: every positive integer can be written as the sum of 4 integer squares! Interestingly, the proof is geometric in nature, involving counting lattice points in a set with large enough volume. Students may also be introduced to concepts such as generalizations to higher powers or fewer squares.


Prerequisites
Some knowledge of modular arithmetic and the pigeonhole principle, as well as some coordinate geometry may be helpful. I will use a formula for the volume of a four dimensional cube without proof.

Hacking is a term that may have a negative connotation behind it today; however, it was a necessity for the development of our modern world. We will discuss people such Captain Crunch and Steve Wozniak, as well as learn how to create zip-bombs and SQL Injections.

We are living in an unprecedented age of biological imaging. Courtesy of the development of genetically-encoded fluorescent proteins and the microscopes that exploit them, a vast wealth of biological dynamics have come to "light". This course will cover a wide range of imaging techniques, with emphasis on those that function below the diffraction limit. After a brief synopsis of the history of microscopy, various techniques such as PALM, STORM, SIM/FIB-SIM, Lattice Light Sheet (with adaptive optics), IsoView, and 2-Photon microscopy will be discussed. Fetal development, cancer metastasis, cellular endocytosis, dendritic arbor formation, neuronal firing kinetics, and single-molecule tracking will be illustrated using these methods.


Prerequisites
An interest in the biological world.

A broad exploration of ethical issues related to medical and biological research, along with their historical contexts and potential future solutions. There will be a particular emphasis on topics that relate to human health. However, this is not a course geared exclusively toward those interested in medicine. It aims to introduce a larger audience to the nuances of some challenging bio-ethical issues, and provide a space that facilitates productive discussion.

Philosopher René Descartes argued that his whole external world could be an illusion created by an evil demon trying to trick him, certain drugs and disorders cause people to see and hear things that aren't really there, and patients with brain damage often end up experiencing the world in strange and distorted ways. This class explores what ties these cases together and how much we can actually know about the world around us.

Organic chemistry is the study of how carbon compounds are synthesized and broken down to form new matter. However daunting "organic chemistry" may sound, even the most rudimentary understanding of general chemistry can be used to make a meaningful first foray into this subject. In this class, we'll put our critical thinking skills toward one goal—synthesizing methamphetamine from scratch... at least on paper!


Prerequisites
An understanding of chemistry at the high school level will be helpful.

This course will go over a couple of experiments that determine the importance of early life experiences when it comes to adult behavior. The experiments are done on mice that have been subjected to early life stress.

Why can't adults "learn" perfect pitch? Why are babies better at recognizing individual monkey faces? Why do some people never lose their accent? Many of our abilities are shaped by critical periods of plasticity in development: where neurons dramatically reorganize themselves in response to our environment. In this course, you will explore some of the critical periods that affect how we see, hear, and understand our world.

In today's world there is a large demand for data in any sector. Data collection provides quality information for political campaigns, companies and other institutions so that they can make informed decisions from further analysis, study, and research. In this session, you'll be given a quick intro to data science using R and RStudio. We will extract data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and make some cool plots and tables from the 2018 elections.


Prerequisites
NOTE: Students must bring their own laptops for this class.

This course of will be a crash course of all the important topics in neuroscience, we will review the whole structure of the brain and Central Nervous System, then delve into the structure and function of neurons.We will then talk a bit about different diseases and disorders of the brain.

Humans are changing the climate, but the climate has always been changing. This course will show how scientists reconstruct the ancient climate and how this informs climate science today and our predictions for the future.

An overview of scientific, economic, and ethical issues that pose obstacles to solving the climate change problem, and what we can do to move forward.

The beginning of the Universe and the search for planets beyond the solar system--these are two of the hottest research problems in astronomy. In this seminar, we will get a high-level, non-technical overview of these topics and discuss the experiments that scientists use to study these big questions about the Universe around us.


Prerequisites
None! Just an interest in the topic and an open mind.

Stressed about the Common App? Feel like you can't breathe under the pressure of expectations?
Mother Nature also feels suffocated by pollution, deforestation, and human effects on the environment. Come learn about how dire the situation is in extreme cases all across the globe, how people are responding to it, and how we collectively can contribute to becoming more sustainable.

In! Up! Out! Over!

Despite the simplicity of these words, they play a prominent role in a child's ability to organize thoughts and follow instructions in order. Given that birds’ song learning has been proposed as a model system for human language acquisition, my study tests whether birds can also be models for studies of sequential learning through the concept of order with the use of the preposition “in”.

In my study, I present them with two different stacks of colored cups and state which order they should select (“Pick blue IN yellow”, and thus ignore “yellow in blue”). The results are encouraging and the study is continuing with both birds.

This course aims to answer some of life's biggest questions, such as:
Do you know why some "burnt" things taste amazing and others taste not so good?
Why is the egg white solid while the yolk is still runny?
What on earth is spherification of liquids?
This course aims to introduce students to the chemistry and biology that is omnipresent in cooking that makes things delicious.

This seminar will explore how we can use a tabletop roleplaying game like Dungeons and Dragons to learn about working as a team, thinking outside the box, and overcoming obstacles. The course will focus on objectives like identifying an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, coming up with creative solutions to challenging problems, and how to deal with issues within a team in a productive manner. The lessons learned in this seminar can be applied to any field and is open to anyone regardless of educational background.

This class will teach students the benefits of journaling and self-reflection, some practical ways for implementing this practice, and some long-term benefits of reflection, goal-setting, and daily discipline. The first part of the class will be lecture-style, and then the second part of the class will allow students to quietly journal & reflect in a peaceful and distraction free environment, which can be freeform or in response to given prompts The hope is students will be able to put their busy lives on pause for this house so that they can introspectively reflect, express gratitude, and identify areas of growth or improvement.

It's easy for students, especially those at elite colleges, to lose sight of what they are truly passionate about. Exposed to a job market where it seems like marketable skills are a must, students compete for endless accolades that serve both to justify their worth and the worth of an elite education. How does one get out of this cycle, and make the most of the beginning of college? What does a senior wish he had known going in?

This course will begin by tracing the origin of respectability politics and how modern day women, like the City Girls, Cardi B, Lil Kim, and others, are challenging respectability by being sexually liberated in their art. Music videos, excerpts of essays, tweets, and more will be used to analyze how respectability politics has affected Black women and girls over the years.
*Explicit content will be played


Prerequisites
None

This class will include:
- A brief introduction to Ethiopia's 2000+ years of history
- The current political regime in the country
- A brief look into one or two of Ethiopian ethnic groups
- Short Q&A
- Crash course on Ethiopia's two most spoken languages
- How to: Write your names in Ethiopia's ancient script 'Ge'ez'


Prerequisites
NONE

Learn some basics of designing and writing for a newspaper or magazine! The class will teach you the basics for designing vector graphics and also the fundamentals of journalism. No prior experience required, but knowledge of Adobe Studio will be helpful!


Prerequisites
PLEASE BRING A LAPTOP COMPUTER! This will be essential to doing the design demos!

This course will discuss what game theory is and its prevalence in the world. It will go over how to think about classic games like the prisoner's dilemma, how computer engines compute best strategies in games like chess or go, and discuss various solution methods to solve different types of games. We will also bring things together to show how game theory has evolved to study cooperative games since the end of the Cold War.

From The Brady Bunch to The Office, we will discuss how the American Sitcom has developed in terms of structure and humor to what it is in the modern day, and how they can be used as a tool in understanding culture in their respective eras.

We envision a lesson plan that is broken into three main parts; contemporary problems faced by black women, social and economic progress made by black women, and action items to focus on moving forward. In the first portion of the class, the students will estimate statistics on racial intergenerational inequality, incarceration rates, and health disparities using an interactive online poll. Using these statistics we will present a framework of the current status of black women in the US. Our second portion will focus on the progress that black women have made in recent years. We will speak to the high level of agency taken by black women to improve our college graduation rates, political impact and, entrepreneurial footprint. We expect the first two parts of our lesson to last about twenty minutes. These portions will provide context for the action items that we will discuss in the last forty minutes. We will facilitate activities relating to personal finance and discuss a few more solutions to increase the economic wellbeing of black women during this time.

Beginner Tagalog class. Learn the culture of the Philippines in a fun and non-stressful environment. No prerequisite necessary. Come with an open mind and a willingness to learn.

From Stranger Things to To All The Boys I've Loved Before, Netflix is a content powerhouse that has redefined the voice of new media. Old-school Hollywood and cable television have been threatened by the rapid rise of the digital streaming platform that has become a social and cultural phenomenon. We'll talk about Netflix's origin story and where it's headed next—and why Netflix cares if we're still watching.


Prerequisites
Come prepared to talk about something you've watched on/from Netflix!

The world is rapidly becoming more urban. The UN predicts that 68% of the human population will live in urban areas by 2050, up from 55% now. In light of this coming reality, it is important to understand the challenges that current and developing cities are facing.

In this course, we will cover a basic overview of the evolution of American urban thought, culminating with a in-depth look at various urban practices—particularly smart growth, sustainability, and politics—and their counter-arguments. We will also briefly cover the unique challenges and possibilities that developing cities will and are encountering, and how that matters to us.

This course will look at social entrepreneurship and the way that ideas become reality. We will review the creation process and cover the steps of recognizing a social problem, brainstorming a solution, and finally creating this solution. I will talk about my own successful projects with creating a phone app and an organization that advocates for diversity, in order to share the process and lessons that I have learned. Finally, I will invite students to create social entrepreneurship pitches for themselves and present to the class if they would like.