AAS 10(W) SEM Reading + Drawing Asian American Graphic Narratives
While some of the first visual depictions of Asian immigrants in the United States were often racist caricatures, Asian Americans have been recording their own experiences in comics as earlyas the 1930s. Early examples include Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama's The Four Immigrants Manga and Miné Okubo's Citizen 13660, both depicting the experiences of early Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans in California. More recently, Asian American graphic novelists and memoirists have published diverse works that use the combinations of words and images to explore race, gender, sexuality, class, and immigration. In this course, students will read both historical and contemporary examples of Asian American graphic narratives (fiction and non-fiction) as well write and draw their own. Students do not to have experience in comics, just an openness to experiment and sometimes draw "badly." Class sessions will include conversations about assigned readings, time to draw and write together, and opportunities to share and discuss one another's work.
Taught by: Laura Chow Reeve
Catalog detailsAAS 11(W) SEM Visual Literature: An Exploration of Image and Text
In this series we'll look at ways writers incorporate image and text, and play with generative prompts to inspire writing and visual art creation alike. We'll study graphic literature andcreative works, primarily by AAPI writers, that approach the blending of image and text through different lenses-from the graphic poems of Naoko Fujimoto to the graphic memoirs of Mira Jacob, from the mixed media collages of Victoria Chang to the multimedia approach of Don Mee Choi's DMZ Colony. Assignments will include weekly readings, analysis, and discussion, daily free writes/drawings, and guided in-class prompt-based exercises. We will engage with experimental prompts including writing with our non-dominant hand, creating collages, and drawing personal archives to insert into prose. Students will regularly share works-in-progress, and the Winter Study will culminate in an end-of-course showcase and celebration. Students will walk away with a strong introductory understanding blending creative writing with visual work, new access points for an ever-evolving writing practice, and a framework from which to build future projects.
Taught by: Emilly Giselle Prado
Catalog detailsAFR 19(W) SEM Black Storytelling From Page To Stage
Some of the most impactful Black artists have chosen multiple genres and interwoven genres to write stories about Black life. For example, Alice Walker's The Color Purple began as anovel, then became a film and a musical. With for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, Ntozake Shange wrote a choreopoem that merged dance with music and poetry. It was performed on the theatrical stage and was later adapted twice into film. These multi-genre stories of Black life have stood the test of time and captured the interest of diverse communities of fans. In advance of the course, Professor Rashida K. Braggs will choose one Black performance text that is relevant to winter study 2025. Students will engage with this text through multiple genres, including written and staged forms. The course will feature student discussion, writing and analysis of Black performance. Additionally, students will explore acting, moving, writing and film approaches that they will apply to the course text. In this way, students will not only learn by viewing, listening and discussing Black art, but by creating it too. Homework will include reading and viewing Black performance texts, short written responses to contribute to discussion, and rehearsal for in-class performances. The ending course goals are to see a performance of the featured text and for students to share their own performative interpretations of it. No prior performance experience is required, only an openness and curiosity about creating Black performance.
Taught by: Rashida Braggs
Catalog detailsAFR 30(W) IND Sen Project: Africana Studies
To be taken by students registered for Africana Studies 491 who are candidates for honors.
Taught by: Rashida Braggs
Catalog detailsAFR 99(W) IND Ind Study: Africana Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Rashida Braggs
Catalog detailsAMST 11(W) STU Remnants: The Social Life of Sewing
Weaver Ann Hamilton calls fabric our "second skin." As a baby, you may have been wrapped in a blanket that was stitched by a loved one. More likely, that piecewas mass-produced in a distant place, by strangers who labor in conditions you may never know. What does it mean to surround ourselves with objects about which we have no knowledge and to which we have no organic connection? In this course, we will become makers as well as students of the crafts we are practicing: quilting, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, cross-stitch, and sewing. We may discuss slow fashion and farm-to-closet sustainability, reuse and upcycling, #blackmakersmatter and the intersection of social justice and ecological integrity. We may trade images by artist-activists, such as quilter Bisa Butler and textile artist Victoria Villasana. We may video conference with makers such as quilter Zak Foster, knitters Denise Bayron and Brandi Cheyenne Harper, recycled-denim artist Eliu Hernandez, and embroiderer Han Cao. Above all, we will sew together, stitch by stitch. Note: All levels welcome, including beginners. Professor will offer instruction and guidance on all techniques. This class will be a safe space for students of all gender identities and expressions. Reading may include: This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community and Connection; Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists and Makers; Worn: A People's History of Clothing; Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of A Needle; All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake; Vanishing Fleece; and Knitting for Radical Self Care.
Taught by: Cassandra Cleghorn
Catalog detailsAMST 19(W) SEM Unfixing Masks, Upending Masquerades: Writing into the Waters of Melville's Benito Cereno
Guided by close readings and discussions of Herman Melville's Benito Cereno, and engagement with generative writing prompts, students will identify themes in the work which they feel most compelled toexplore through creative writing-braiding or fraying the threads of the text's concerns with their own. Among the possible topics for further exploration are notions of self, myth, mask, masquerade, rebellion, revolution, memory, and collectivity.
Taught by: thúy thi diem lê
Catalog detailsAMST 30(W) HON Senior Honors: American Studies
To be taken by students registered for American Studies 491 or 492.
Taught by: Cassandra Cleghorn
Catalog detailsAMST 99(W) IND Independent Study: American Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Cassandra Cleghorn
Catalog detailsANSO 10(W) SEM Urban Inequality, Policing, and Struggles for Racial Justice
This class explores the connections between policing and struggles for more just and equal cities. Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from sociology, Black studies, geography, history, and criminology, we will explorehow the origins and development of different policing practices are intertwined with the racialization of space as well as how movements for racial, economic, and spatial justice make these connections. We will examine the evolution of these dynamics in the US context, focusing on the origins of policing, gendered and racialized post-Emancipation policing practices in US cities, the Black freedom struggle in the 1960s, struggles for just cities in the 21st century, and the relationship between gentrification and policing. While focusing on US cities, we will also draw on connections with policing and urban inequality in other nations, such as Brazil and South Africa. Students will gain hands-on experience in conducting interdisciplinary and critical research on urban inequality and policing as we explore these topics through collaborative and creative projects that draw on a range of data sources and modes of research communication that span across disciplines. This seminar-style class is focused on group-led discussions of readings and films, which will all be provided on GLOW. The main course requirements are active engagement in course discussions and a creative group project that draws on multiple forms of data (e.g., archival, census records, media sources, and self-exploratory reflections) to explore a contemporary issue or debate related to urban inequality, urban redevelopment, and policing.
Taught by: Peter Kent-Stoll
Catalog detailsANSO 15(W) SEM "It's a love story, baby, just say yes": Media, messages, and healthy relationships
From the time we're small children, we're inundated with media about romantic relationships: who to have them with, how they unfold, what the should look like. But what makes arelationship "healthy"? Are romantic relationships the pinnacle of what kinds of relationships we can have? How do we end relationships we don't want to be in anymore? Using a range of popular media--reality TV like the Bachelor/ette franchise and Love Is Blind; animated movies; rom-coms; short stories--as a lens to examine healthy relationships (romantic and friend): what stories are we told and do we create about how relationships form and deepen? What are the "right" and "wrong" reasons to be seeking and staying in relationships? How did first reality TV and now social media shape our notions of public and private in relationships? How do we have healthy relationships across identity differences? In addition to exploring the messages we receive, we'll have the opportunity to construct our own answers to these and other questions.
Taught by: Meg Bossong
Catalog detailsANSO 17(W) SEM Journalism Today
Even as the field is constantly changing and reshaping itself, at the heart of journalism is the desire to thoughtfully report and write stories about the world around us. Thiscourse is a bottom-up examination of what that means, from the practical skills of how to hone a story idea and conduct an interview, to the process of crafting a finished work. Throughout the class, we'll do a series of small exercises to work on specific skills, building up to a feature-length work about a subject that matters to you by the end of the month. We'll read classic work from the past, as well as some exemplary pieces from today, and question and consider the ethical, legal, and professional questions that are inherent to nonfiction work. We'll also discuss the real-world applications of these ideas with a busy schedule of guest speakers (in-person and virtual), who will talk about their work and careers in the news business. Past guests, many of them Williams alumni, have included journalists from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, NPR, ABC News, Politico, Bloomberg, and ProPublica. This course would be quite useful for students with experience in journalism and are considering it as a career, but also for anyone who wants to understand more about how the media works, or would simply like to experiment with and try out new ways of telling stories that make a difference.
Taught by: Christopher Marcisz
Catalog detailsANSO 18(W) SEM Writing Your Self in Research: An Introduction to Performance Autoethnography
How do you bring your self into your research? You come to the academy with lived experiences and embodied knowledges, but academic research often requires you to leave yourself outof your writing. Sometimes it feels like you have to write with a disembodied academic voice in order to produce research, even when it's research about people like you, about your own communities, or about yourself. So, are you even allowed to bring your self to research? And if so, how? The good news is that qualitative research methodologies offer avenues for embodied ways of knowing to be valued in academic research. In this class we explore performance autoethnography: A cluster of approaches at the intersection of performance studies, ethnography, performative writing, and decolonizing methodologies. We will learn how to entwine our lived experiences with reflexive analyses of the societal structures and power dynamics within/against which we live, love, and labor. We will learn modes of storytelling that weave personal voice with creative ways of quoting/citing academic scholarship, as well as performative writing techniques that transform the printed page into a stage. We will read examples of published scholarship, and we will practice writing exercises drawing from our own research interests. Through sharing among a supportive community of fellow writing selves in class, we will develop ways of listening and learning from each other's stories in/as research. We will also engage in performing our texts together, drawing from theatre-based practices to rehearse and discover and revise our material. At the end of the course, we will collect our final performance texts into an anthology of the course. This Winter Study course is designed to complement performance-based pathways and methodologies in a range of disciplines, including but not limited to: Africana Studies, Anthropology & Sociology, American Studies, English, Music, and Theatre & Dance.
Taught by: Hari Stephen Kumar
Catalog detailsANTH 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Anthropology
To be taken by students registered for Anthropology 493-494.
Taught by: Christina Simko
Catalog detailsANTH 99(W) IND Independent Study: Anthropology
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Christina Simko
Catalog detailsARAB 14(W) STU Empowered Embodiment: An Introduction to Movement Improvisation
This guided improvisation class incorporates diverse movement modalities that bring awareness to our sensations, emotions, and thoughts, and aims to build new patterns in service of better relationships with ourbodies as sites of learning, liberation and power. Appropriate for movers of all levels, this studio-based course encourages physical exploration to develop and deepen an embodied practice for participants that supports creativity and mindfulness, while enhancing compassion, mental health and emotional well being. Drawing on techniques including authentic movement, visualization, meditation, performance studies, music and play, as well as diverse movement traditions, participants will spend time moving, observing and reflecting in each 3 hr session (2 x week). Students will be encouraged to keep a daily journal and respond to prompts and readings, and develop a short daily movement practice both as a creative outlet and means of reducing stress and anxiety. Conversations and readings will interrogate the role of cultural and gender-based expectations on our physical patterns and well being. Movement prompts will provide new tools for critical thinking and creative problem solving by getting participants out of their "heads" and grounded in the liberatory and exploratory space of the body. Evaluation will be based on in-studio participation, reflective writings, and the creation of a personalized embodied practice program including an original movement score.
Taught by: Zoe Rabinowitz
Catalog detailsARAB 16(W) LEC The Art of Writing: Introduction to Arabic and Japanese Calligraphy
Calligraphy is an art of elegant penmanship closely connected to philosophy, spirituality, literature, and poetry. This course introduces you to two different traditions of calligraphy, Arabic and Japanese, exploring theirdistinct characteristics as well as similarities. How has master-apprentice learning shaped each? How are different aesthetics valued in each? And what are the themes and ideas shared between these two different traditions? In our classes, we will have short lectures on historical, cultural, philosophical, and spiritual backgrounds of Arabic and Japanese calligraphy as well as material dimensions of the two traditions. You will also be introduced to the execution of lettering with traditional tools, exploring self-expression through the art of writing. In class (6 hours per week), you will engage in hands-on activities, learning the basic techniques of Arabic and Japanese calligraphy. Through this course, you will learn to use calligraphy as a meditation tool, one that cultivates inner focus and attention to breathing and bodily movements. Outside class, you will be required to practice daily ten-minute calligraphy meditation sessions. Evaluation for this course is based on attendance at each session, a final calligraphy work, and in-class presentation on the piece. No previous knowledge of Arabic/Japanese or experience with calligraphy is required for this course. The class is open to students interested in both/either of two calligraphy traditions.
Taught by: Eriko Okamoto
Catalog detailsARAB 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Arabic Studies
Arabic Studies senior thesis.
Taught by: Amal Eqeiq
Catalog detailsARAB 88(W) LAB Arabic Sustaining Program
Students registered for ARAB 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Arabic Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program--check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Amal Eqeiq
Catalog detailsARAB 99(W) IND Independent Study: Arabic
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Amal Eqeiq
Catalog detailsARTH 14(W) SEM The Digital Humanities Toolkit
This course will provide students an introduction to digital humanities methods and hands-on experience with a variety of essential tools. Students will curate a digital exhibition in Omeka using theVisual Resources Center's historic photograph collection. In the process, students will learn about digital imaging, metadata, mapping, timelines, virtual reality, and data analytics and visualization. Discussion and lab time in the Visual Resources Center will be paired with cross-campus visits, where guest speakers will share their expertise and engage students in topics such as 3D modeling and printing, and artificial intelligence. Short readings and videos will be assigned to supplement materials presented in class. Students will present their final exhibition projects at the end of the course. While the course will often approach digital humanities through the image-intensive lens of Art History, students pursuing a variety of disciplines are welcome. Students will complete the course having been introduced to a broad range of ways to incorporate digital technologies into their humanities research.
Taught by: Amy McKenna, Emily Leon, Joe Favini
Catalog detailsARTH 18(W) SEM Archaeological Illustration: Problems in the Representation of Antiquity
This course will consider historiographic problems in the representation of human antiquity, with a focus on the arts of the ancestral Americas. Students will study how archaeological sites and artworkshave been represented since the advent of concerted archaeological research in the 19th century until the present. Students will also complete a portfolio of 8-10 drawings representing archaeological materials and buildings, a portion of which should focus on Classical Mayan hieroglyphs.
Taught by: Trenton Barnes
Catalog detailsARTH 19(W) SEM Chinese Painting: Deep Looking
This course focuses on the art of painting in China across five dynasties (Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing), spanning from the seventh to the nineteenth century. Instead of alecture-survey class format, students will participate in intensive close-looking exercises and engage in seminar-style discussions on a selection of masterpieces ("deep looking") in each class, under the guidance of the instructor. These exercises will revolve around a collection of high-quality facsimiles of the paintings, supplemented by high-definition digital images when necessary, to replicate the embodied viewing experience as demanded by the traditional formats of Chinese painting. In addition to gaining an introduction to the history of Chinese painting through the dynasties, students will develop critical skills in visually analyzing the style, composition, and brushstrokes of various painting genres, while also exploring how these aspects of image-making mediated ideas throughout history in China.
Taught by: Ziliang Liu
Catalog detailsARTH 20(W) SEM Brazilian Avant-Garde Film
This course will immerse students in the alternative cinema of Brazil in the 1960s, an explosive cultural and political moment that saw the emergence of radical experimentation across the arts.The crosscurrents of conservatism and countercultures clashed in Brazil in the 1960s. A military dictatorship seized power in 1964 as part of a swell of far-right authoritarianism in Latin America; at the same time, artists, musicians, writers, and filmmakers sought to profoundly challenge aesthetic and social norms. We will focus on key films of what became known as Cinema Novo (New Cinema) and Tropicalism, closely analyzing their innovative aesthetics to understand how the medium became a vehicle for avant-garde experimentation and powerful political critique during this time. We will also place these films in their larger cultural milieu, getting to know artworks, music, and poetry that surrounded these filmmakers, so as to reconstruct key aspects of a period that has remained a cultural touchstone in Brazil and internationally. Films are subtitled, and no previous knowledge of film history or Brazilian history is required, as we will incorporate readings and discussions to establish context.
Taught by: Mari Rodriguez Binnie
Catalog detailsARTH 23(W) SEM Art and Access: Disability Justice as Subject, Material, and Form in Contemporary Art
This course offers an introduction to the principles of Disability Justice and Crip theory through the lens of contemporary art. A number of recent exhibitions have foregrounded the work ofartists whose work both represents and critically examines the experience of disability in its social, aesthetic, and political dimensions. We will be charting the emergence of a cohesive history of art and accessibility through specific objects and techniques, with particular attention paid to the formal aspects of accommodations, from captions to image description, to accessible architecture and language justice, among others. Discussion of selected essays by noted scholars and practitioners will frame our investigation of the key themes and concerns operating in artworks that consider accessibility overtly, as subject, material, and form. In addition to short weekly writing assignments, students will be asked to complete one research project on a topic related to explorations of accessibility in contemporary art-this research project may be in the form of a manuscript, curatorial proposal, or mixed-method creative project. Finally, we will schedule field trips throughout the course to nearby institutions to conduct informal 'accessibility audits', taking into account the way arts organizations construct visitor experience through wayfinding, guides, exhibition materials, and other accommodations-in anticipation of specific audiences.
Taught by: Luke Fischbeck
Catalog detailsARTH 27(W) SEM Introduction to Art Writing
Course Title: Introduction to Art Writing This course offers a dynamic exploration of art writing, providing students with the opportunity to refine their critical lens while engaging with various membersof the Williams and Williamstown/North Adams community. Through a blend of theoretical discussions, practical exercises, and hands-on experiences, students will immerse themselves in different forms of art writing, ranging from wall labels to essays for general audiences.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsARTH 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Art History
To be taken by students registered for ArtH 494. For requirements of entry into the course, please see "The Degree with Honors in Art, Art History" in the catalogue oron the Art Department's webpage.
Taught by: Michelle Apotsos
Catalog detailsARTH 51(W) TVL International Study Trip
The International Study Trip, required of all first-year students in the Program, is unique among graduate art history programs. Students travel as a group for approximately three weeks, accompanied bythe Program Director and other faculty. The Program covers the cost of travel, accommodation, admission, and additional expenses. Locations for study are selected based on faculty expertise and interest and have included in recent years: Italy, Sicily, Denmark, Sweden, Great Britain, France, Austria, Hawaii, Australia, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Russia.
Taught by: Marc Gotlieb
Catalog detailsARTH 99(W) IND Independent Study: Art History
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Michelle Apotsos
Catalog detailsARTS 118(W) STU Intensive: Introduction to Drawing
Seeing is one of the ways we experience the world. In today's text-centric society, drawing can provide a vehicle for encountering and interpreting your surroundings. This course will heighten yourawareness of the visual world, teach basic drawing skills, and demonstrate how drawing operates as a form of visual exchange. A variety of materials will be covered as you explore the 2-dimensional concepts of line, form, proportion, gesture, spatial depth, and value. Towards the latter part of the semester, more emphasis will be placed on the use of drawing as idea, and you will have the opportunity to express yourself through the visual language of drawing.
Taught by: Amy Podmore
Catalog detailsARTS 17(W) STU Visible Mending as a Political Act
In this course students will explore a variety of hand mending techniques including patching, sashiko, darning, applique and embellished mending. We will approach this activity as both a sustainable practiceand a relaxing skill-building experience. Learning about the waste produced by the textile industry will provide us with the impetus to resist our culture of fast fashion. Mending clothes is a political act that gives us a way out of the fast fashion loop and is a step towards divesting from the billionaires who own clothing chains. Visible mending can be a fashion statement that shows others that we have taken the time and care to extend the lives of our clothes. Students will be encouraged to bring in their own clothing with holes, stains, tears, and worn spots to strategize and create fun and fashionable mends of different types. Demonstrations and hands-on work will be supplemented with readings from "Mend! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto" by Kate Sekules. All skill levels are welcome. Some hand sewing experience is good for this course but not entirely necessary. Anyone can learn to mend!
Taught by: Megan Piontkowski
Catalog detailsARTS 26(W) STU Multifaceted Performance
For this course, we will consider how performance intersects with drawing, sculpture, and video. The course is open to all majors and encourages cross-disciplinary inquiry, research methods, and fun. Eachweek will focus on different media and build upon the previous meeting. We will begin with drawing by creating large-scale drawing tools. This will expand to movement, as we play with lighting strategies to explore shapes formed by the body through light and shadow. The following week, students will bring an object of significance to activate through performance exercises, documented with their phones and equipment accessible through the library. The final week will explore video within live performance and ways to merge students' drawing, sculpture, and video experiments. The course will end with a presentation of performances, videos, or an exhibition.
Taught by: Zoe Berg
Catalog detailsARTS 31(W) IND Senior Studio: Independent Project Art Studio
Independent project to be taken by candidates for honors in Art Studio.
Taught by: Frank Jackson
Catalog detailsARTS 35(W) STU Leaf, Cocoon, Cloth: Silk Painting and Introduction to Natural Dyes
This course explores techniques used to paint on the most luxurious of surfaces: silk. Unlike traditional painting , where the medium sits on top of canvas, the dyes used insilk painting become part of the fabric grain itself. This allows the artist to play with transparency, layering, and movement. Students will leave the course with a brief overview of silk's history, its lifecycle and production, and the various applications of dye and resist across cultures. They will also be introduced to relief printing by hand and how to design a repeatable pattern. Utilizing the natural dye lab in the Spencer Printshop, students will also learn the basics of natural dye processing. They will learn how to derive color from leaves, twigs, and insects, which mordants to use for which fibers, and aid in building a communal color library. Emphasis will be placed on materials that can be sourced from common food waste and the local landscape (even in the dead of winter!) These dyes will be used as material for individual works as well as printed yardage. The resulting final project will either be one large-scale silk painting, multiple smaller paintings, or a sculptural work built from silk yardage. The works will be featured in an end of semester group exhibition in the Spencer Studio Art Building.
Taught by: Krystal DiFronzo
Catalog detailsARTS 36(W) STU Art and AI: Generative Art Making
AI art is here and the media narrative is alarmist - artists will lose their jobs to machines, AI will replace human creativity. A more optimistic future imagines a worldwhere artists can harness the power of AI to expand their palette, boost their productivity, and experiment with new forms. In this course, students will learn the basic skills of generative art making through hands-on learning using AI tools to produce works from concept to completion while engaging in critical thinking to examine the ethical considerations of AI through instructor-led discussions and tutorials. Students will create original still images (drawings, paintings, photographs) and use generative AI to apply dynamic motion to the image resulting in a cinematic rendering of the original still image. Students will be equipped with an understanding of how images are recreated and imagined by artificial intelligence. Students will write a description of their process, why they chose the particular image, what it made them think about critically from an artistic and art history perspective. At the end of the session students will present their work in a group exhibition. The final artworks will be edited together for exhibition on a digital screen and students can also consider prototyping installation concepts that merge digital and physical elements.
Taught by: Debra McGrory
Catalog detailsARTS 37(W) STU The Still Life as Micro-History
Still life painting-a genre of ancient origins-crystallized into a distinct artistic category around the 16th century. The seemingly humble act of gathering inanimate objects manages to outweigh the sum ofits individual parts to convey a narrative, a quality that has enabled its ongoing status in the history of art. What can one say about oneself, or one's respective time, place, culture, political atmosphere, and/or personal beliefs, by assembling an arrangement of personal belongings, materials, and artifacts to construct an image? In this course, we will arrange our own still life compositions and paint them, in oil on canvas, over the span of the winter term, culminating in an exhibition of the resulting works. We will also analyze the surprisingly flexible genre of the still life, looking at and talking about historic examples from the past two millennia-from excavations in Pompeii to memento mori and vanitas--as well as its use in contemporary art--particularly its resurgence feminist, queer, and other political artistic expressions that prod and challenge the genre's ties to the patriarchal Western Canon of visual art. The course will meet three times per week to engage in dedicated studio work and group visual analysis. The bulk of the time will be spent working towards a single, polished painting to be displayed in a final group exhibition in the Spencer Art Building's Wilde Gallery, at which time each artist will present their finished work.
Taught by: Willie Binnie
Catalog detailsARTS 40(W) STU Intensive: Introduction to Drawing
Seeing is one of the ways we experience the world. In today's text-centric society, drawing can provide a vehicle for encountering and interpreting your surroundings. This course will heighten yourawareness of the visual world, teach basic drawing skills, and demonstrate how drawing operates as a form of visual exchange. A variety of materials will be covered as you explore the 2-dimensional concepts of line, form, proportion, gesture, spatial depth, and value. Towards the latter part of the semester, more emphasis will be placed on the use of drawing as idea, and you will have the opportunity to express yourself through the visual language of drawing.
Taught by: Amy Podmore
Catalog detailsARTS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Art Studio
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Laylah Ali
Catalog detailsASIA 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Asian Studies
For students pursuing an Asian Studies senior thesis.
Taught by: Anne Reinhardt
Catalog detailsASIA 99(W) IND Independent Study: Asian Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Anne Reinhardt
Catalog detailsASTR 16(W) LEC An infinity of worlds: planets and the search for life in the universe
Less than a generation ago, we wondered, as we had for millions of years before, whether there were any other planets at all. Now, we are privileged to be inthe first generation of humans to know that many of the points of light dusting our night sky are host to orbiting worlds, some of which may be like our Earth. In this course, we will explore the techniques that are being used to discover these new worlds. We will make our own contributions to this great age of discovery, by using NASA spacecraft data to search for new planets. This course, aimed at non-majors, will deal with the science of planet hunting, the astounding diversity of planets known to exist, the emerging science of astrobiology, and the enduring question of "are we alone?" through works of science fiction and cutting-edge research. Coursework will consist of readings from popular science books aimed at a general audience, science-fiction short stories, and excerpts from science-fiction novels, in addition to 1-2 relevant feature films. The primary mode of instruction will be 6 hours per week of in-person class meetings including lectures, small-group activities, and optional evening observing sessions at the rooftop telescope (weather permitting). Evaluation will be based on a final 10-page paper, the topic and format of which is extremely broad.
Taught by: Rob Wittenmyer
Catalog detailsASTR 22(W) RSC Research Participation
students in ASTR 22 will work on an experimental research project.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsASTR 31(W) HON Senior Research: Astronomy
To be taken by students registered for Astronomy 493, 494.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsASTR 32 / PHYS 32(W) HON Senior Research: Astrophysics
To be taken by students registered for Astrophysics 495, 496.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsASTR 99(W) IND Independent Study: Astronomy or Astrophysics
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsBIMO 99(W) IND Independent Study: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Pei-Wen Chen
Catalog detailsBIOL 13(W) LEC Intro to Animal Tracking
Course focuses on identification based on tracks and sign found in the field. Course work includes weekly readings, small group study sites, 1) 6 hour day field trip, 3 pageresearch paper, field test and small group power point presentation.
Taught by: Joan Edwards
Catalog detailsBIOL 22(W) RSC Introduction to Biological Research
An experimental research project will be carried out under the supervision of the Biology Department. It is expected that the student will spend 20 hours per week in the labat a minimum, and a 10-page written report is required. This experience is intended for, but not limited to, first-year students and sophomores, and requires the permission of the instructor.
Taught by: Robert Savage
Catalog detailsBIOL 23(W) TVL Tropical Ecology: From the Andes to the Amazon basin
One of the most striking patterns in biogeography is the increasing level of species richness as one moves from the poles to the equator. As the name implies, Ecuador straddlesthe equator, but perhaps less well known is that Ecuador includes an altitudinal gradient that ranges from the high Andes (over 20,000 feet) to the Amazon basin. This combination of equatorial proximity and vertical relief has generated one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world - Ecuador is home to over 23 thousand species and makes up about 6% of the world's diversity in an area approximately the size of Colorado. This course will include a 14-day trip to Ecuador where we will visit three distinct habitats - the páramo and Polylepis "forests" of the high Andes, mid-elevation tropical cloud forest, and lowland tropical rain forest. Through a combination of lectures, field trips, guest seminars, and independent exploration, this course will introduce students to the natural history and ongoing research taking place in these ecosystems. A typical day during our trip to Ecuador will involve a morning natural history hike, with opportunity for independent exploration in the afternoon. Evenings will involve either night hikes, or seminar presentations by resident researchers. During our trip, students will collect data for an independent project on self-selected topics that could include, for example, altitudinal gradients in hummingbird diversity, the pros and cons of ecotourism in Ecuador, or analysis of camera-trap data in the Amazon basin. Upon return to campus, students will complete their independent project analysis which they will use as the basis for a short report.
Taught by: Manuel Morales
Catalog detailsBIOL 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Biology
Continuation of Senior Honors thesis research. Required of all thesis students.
Taught by: Robert Savage
Catalog detailsBIOL 99(W) IND Independent Study: Biology
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Matt Carter, Robert Savage
Catalog detailsCAOS 31(W) HON Sen Thesis: Coastal and Ocean Studies
Coastal and Ocean Studies senior thesis.
Taught by: Rónadh Cox
Catalog detailsCAOS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Coastal and Ocean Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Rónadh Cox
Catalog detailsCCE 11(W) SEM Investing in a Real Fund
We will use financial fraud as an entryway into the world of investing. Through the lens of how bad actors have tricked markets, we will learn how to analyze firmsand stocks with a bit of a cautious eye. The focus of the course is to learn how to analyze and value a company. Along the way, we'll touch on a host of topics: basic financial accounting, investment instruments, corporate capital structure, equity and fixed income markets, derivatives, market efficiency, behavioral finance, and non-financial drivers (ESG, etc.) to arrive at a sound base of securities analysis. We'll conclude with student pitches for stocks we will buy (or not) in the fund we manage. And while we will employ a classic textbook, we'll also read about true financial frauds that are just jaw-dropping. (Students will read a couple chapters of the textbook and one ~250 page easily-read fraud each week. This course is designed for students with anywhere from no experience in investing to a moderate amount.) Interested students should apply by October 25. Applications for all CCE Courses can be found here: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc
Taught by: David Pesikoff, Robin Meyer
Catalog detailsCCE 12(W) SEM Designing Ideas for Campus and the Local Community
Want to make a difference? Join us for a hands-on course where you'll learn to identify real-world problems, brainstorm innovative solutions, and bring your ideas to life. We'll explore topicslike design thinking, entrepreneurship, and community-centered design. This isn't just about theory; you'll get to work with local communities, conduct interviews, collaborate with others, build prototypes, and pitch your ideas to potential investors. We will collaborate on group projects, feature guest speakers such as local community stakeholders and alumni, and go on trips to hot-spots for local creativity and innovation. This course is perfect for students who are passionate about social impact and making a difference, exploring their entrepreneurial potential, or simply developing valuable problem-solving skills. Let's work together to solve problems on campus and in the community, and to create a more sustainable and equitable future! While the priority deadline is October 25, applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis. Applications for all CCE Courses can be found here: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc
Taught by: Hope Elizabeth Ross Gibaldi, Carolyn Clayton
Catalog detailsCCE 13(W) LEC INFLUENCE®, Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship: An Intensive Ventureship
INFLUENCE® as an investment method for start-ups: a hybrid course melding principles in economics, sociology, and psychology, this intense program examines core venture capital structures, brand development, and social primingthrough social media influencers and applies them to create a new company where INFLUENCE drives growth and value. Students will act like venture capitalist and founders. Over the past three winter studies we created three companies, reviewed investment term sheets and evaluated the nature of venture funding. The London Fund's proprietary Lal Toofan methodology and investment approach help students develop a start-up, its business plan, and a venture capital presentation. Celebrity influencers, investors and seasoned entrepreneurs will contribute to the class lectures. Out-of-class work includes competitive research on investments, financial modeling, and social network browsing. Interested students should apply by October 25. Applications for all CCE Courses can be found here: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc
Taught by: Ashesh Shah
Catalog detailsCCE 14(W) LEC The Business of Healthcare (Beyond the Doctor's Office)
Imagine going to get a flu shot. You might think that the businesses involved in that transaction are just your doctor and insurance company, but in actuality, that transaction involvesmore than a hundred different businesses all touching parts of the care process. This course will dive into the complexity of the healthcare industry, covering the major types of organizations in the healthcare industry - not just doctors, pharmaceuticals companies, and insurers, but also the thousands of companies that sell to them. Students will read and discuss each of the major sub-industries, and the final project will be a market analysis for an individual healthcare company.
Taught by: Sarah Elisabeth Rowe
Catalog detailsCCE 19(W) SEM Healthcare Shadowing
Experience in a healthcare environment is essential to exploring the health professions. Through this experiential course, students have an opportunity to clarify their understanding of the rewards and challenges ofthe practice of allopathic and osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, allied health professions, or public health. Students will participate in an intensive shadowing experience. Generally, a shadowing experience focuses on provider-patient interactions within out-patient and in-patient settings. These experiences provide students with the opportunity to observe clinical interactions and to learn about the systems within which healthcare is delivered. Students will be introduced to fundamental concepts related to patient interviewing, diagnosis, and medical decision making. This course will encourage participants to reflect on their healthcare experiences with a dual focus: from the perspective of the individual provider-patient relationship and within a systems-level context. Weekly panels will expose students to broader perspectives in healthcare, preparation for health professions programs, and more. By the end of the course, students will demonstrate a greater understanding of the fundamentals of patient-provider interactions, clinical diagnosis, patient interviewing, and/or factors affecting the health of individuals and communities. They will write a final reflective paper on their experiences. Students are welcome to participate in self-sourced shadowing experiences in a geographic area where they have housing and transportation or will have the opportunity to be placed in the Williamstown area. Students can express interest in this course by filling out a brief application by October 25. Applications for all CCE Courses can be found here: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc
Taught by: Sharon Gonzales
Catalog detailsCCE 21(W) SEM Career Exploration: Winter Study Internships!
Internships amplify academic learning, empower professional development, and increase students' career options. This course offers students the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom by providing substantive applied learning experiences focusingon issues such as racial justice/social justice, non-profit/community service, government/policy/law, environment, education & more! Students have the option of applying to the designated WS internships posted on Handshake, or submitting self-sourced WS internships. Each student will intern for 5 days per week working on project(s) for 3 1/2-4 weeks. Williams College Alumni/Parents and other employers will be recruited as Winter Study (WS) Internship Employers and create meaningful projects/experiences during the month of January. It is expected that our WS Employers will mentor the Williams intern(s) during the course, meet with intern(s) on a regular basis to discuss projects/goals/challenges for the week, and support students' success. In January, students will reflect upon their experiences: Impressions about the organization and its workplace culture. Insights about the structure of their role, the organization and the industry. Professionally-What they have learned about themselves within a professional environment; may solidify an interest in a particular industry and build upon this experience when pursuing future opportunities or support the decision to change direction and explore a new industry. Academically-Future course selection, selection of major, and enhanced, grounded, contributions to class discussions. If you are an F1 Student, CPT is required for this course. Please submit your internship offer and information to the International Student Portal https://internationalportal.williams.edu/Each student will intern for 5 days per week working on project(s) for 3 1/2-4 weeks. If you are an F1 Student, CPT is required for this course. Please submit your internship offer and information to the International Student Portal https://internationalportal.williams.edu/ In January, students will reflect upon their experiences: impressions about the organization and its workplace culture; insights about the structure of their role, the organization and the industry; and what they have learned about themselves within a professional environment. More information can be found here: https://careers.williams.edu/winter-study-internships/#spec-21-requirements
Taught by: Dawn Dellea
Catalog detailsCCE 30(W) STU EMT Training
This course will prepare students for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certification, a first step toward applying for state licensure. Upon successful completion of this course andthe Commonwealth of Massachusetts Psychomotor (Practical) Examination, students are eligible to sit for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) computer-based cognitive exam. Please note that this course requires an intensive time commitment both in the classroom and for self-study. CCE 30 is a full-time commitment. Classes will be held in person Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a Zoom lecture on Mondays from 10-12 and there will be a significant amount of required work to be completed outside of class. If you're interested in registering for CCE 30 please fill out an Application Form by October 25: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc There is a $1,400 cost associated with this course, if this is a barrier to entry for you we will work with financial aid to find a way for you to participate. Those who have a strong interest in healthcare and would actively utilize this training are encouraged to apply.
Taught by: Sharon Gonzales
Catalog detailsCCE 35(W) LEC Deconstructing Finance: An Introduction
Are you thinking of a career in Finance, but not sure what it really means? Conflicted? Have you ever talked to someone in Finance and learned from their career experience?Are you interested in developing your resume and interviewing skills? This introductory course will define the institutions that comprise the world of Finance. This will be accomplished in three units. First, we will explore the sell side from the buy side, defining the market interrelationships. This will require reading provided in a packet. Second, building on the first unit we will have panel discussions with various senior Finance professionals comprising asset management, investment banking and global markets. Third, we will develop skills in writing resume reviews and practice interviews. Students will practice as both interviewee and interviewer for specific job roles, graded for competencies and whether the results justify an offer/further interviews. Interested students should apply by October 25. Applications for all CCE Courses can be found here: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc
Taught by: Henry Chafee Lee
Catalog detailsCCE 42(W) LEC Exploring Careers
Join '68 Center staff for an immersive career exploration course. The course will meet as a large group, and will also split into small groups for Creative Careers (Arts, Entertainment,Media), Business, Social Impact (Law, Government, Environment, Nonprofit, Education), and STEM/Tech/Healthcare. This intensive course is the perfect fit for students (especially first years and sophomores) who are just beginning to explore career options and want to commit the time and effort to develop career exploration skills that they'll use throughout their lives. Students will begin by identifying and reflecting on their skills, interests, values, and motivations and applying this self-knowledge to their career exploration. Then, they'll delve into to identifying and building their network of mentors, uncovering the hidden internship and job market. Assignments will include crafting compelling stories in resumes, cover letters and interviews, and more. Highlights include How I Got My Internship panels, alumni panels on various aspects of their industries, practice interviews with alums, and a session on DEIA in the workplace. Students will travel together to New York City (for 3 days and 2 nights) to meet with alumni. Last year's visits included: Google, the New York Times, the Met, Sotheby's NASDAQ, Philanthropy of NY, Green Project Technologies, Pfizer, and WNYC. The course will conclude with a celebratory reflective session back on campus at Williams. For this immersive course, the group will meet for 12-15 hours/week and will have some preparation to do between sessions. If the course fee is a concern, please let us know. If we you want to participate, we don't want to present financial barriers. While the priority deadline is October 25, applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis. Applications for all CCE Courses can be found here: https://airtable.com/appLN37taapdMaZ7V/shrzUn85G4OUycgXc
Taught by: Janine Oliver, Dale Osef
Catalog detailsCCE 57(W) SEM Approaching Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare
Are you considering a career in healthcare or in bioethics? Are you curious about the ethical dilemmas that healthcare professionals encounter? This course will provide an introduction to core bioethicstopics such as informed consent, surrogate decision-making, advance care planning, and controversial interventions at the end of life. Students also will learn a framework for thinking through ethical dilemmas in healthcare, and will apply it to practice cases. Each class will start with a lecture about a core topic. Students then will break into small groups to work through practice cases, or to discuss multiple perspectives on controversial topics. Classes will end with students reconvening in the big group to share their insights. Outside of class, students will learn about core topics from published articles, legal cases, podcasts, and other online materials. Some cases will require additional research done outside of class. Students will complete a final project of their choosing which could include a presentation on a bioethics topic not discussed in class, a case analysis, a presentation or review of a book with ethical overtones, or a presentation or review of a film with ethics themes. Please note that this class will focus predominantly on cases involving adult patients, not adolescent or pediatric patients.
Taught by: Elizabeth Vig
Catalog detailsCCE 58(W) LEC Careers & Impact in Healthcare: Voices from Beyond the Purple Valley
Healthcare accounts for nearly 20% of the US GDP and it's nearly impossible to overstate the impact the industry has on our lives today and will have on our societyin the future. Clearly, careers in healthcare can involve the practice of clinical medicine and the conduct of medical research. However, careers in healthcare can also intersect with numerous areas in the private sector, including: finance, investing, consulting, marketing, biotechnology/pharmaceuticals, medical devices, technology, law, start-ups and more. If you have an interest in healthcare, this course is your chance to discover the breadth of career paths available to you. The cornerstone of the course will involve guest speakers working in various areas of healthcare, with a focus on the practice of medicine and a range of roles in the private sector. Guest speakers will share their firsthand experience with you, including: what they do; how they got there; what they love about their job; what challenges they face; and how they view their long term impact in healthcare. Students in this course will also have opportunities for self-reflection around career path and will gain hands-on exposure to the day-to-day activities in different healthcare roles. Insights on how to obtain a job in various healthcare sectors will flow naturally from the course discussions. However, the focus of this course is less on the brass tacks of how to get there (resumés, qualifications, networking, and interviewing). Instead, it is your chance to dream a little, by exploring careers you may not have fully considered (or even heard of!) and to create a vision for how you can contribute to the healthcare industry after graduation. Guest speaker visits will take place during class hours; active listening and engaged participation during these visits is the main expectation of students. Other assignments may include readings, individual and group exercises, and short written reflections.
Taught by: Sarah Weber
Catalog detailsCHEM 10(W) LAB Zymurgy
An introduction to the science, history, and practice of brewing beer. This course aims to supply the general chemical concepts and hands-on technical experience necessary to enable creative brewing andan appreciation of diverse beer styles. Lecture topics include the biochemistry of yeast, sanitary practices, analytical methods, malt types and preparation, extract vs. all-grain brewing, hops, water chemistry, the chemistry of off-flavors, and beer judging. In the lab, students progress from brewing a commercially available extract kit to producing a full-grain brew of their own original recipe. The class will also meet professional brewers and microbiologists during a private tour of a local brewery.
Taught by: Thomas Smith
Catalog detailsCHEM 11(W) SEM Time Travel in Fact, Fiction, and Film
Time travel has intrigued humans for, well, quite some time! This fascination with the future, the past, and our (in)ability to move between them at will shows up in countlessbooks, TV shows, and films. In this course, we will explore both the scientific understanding of time and the fictional depiction of time travel in popular media. On the side of "fact," we will learn about Einstein's theories of relativity, what they imply about time, and how to resolve the apparent paradoxes that they pose. On the side of "fiction," we will watch and analyze movies selected from among: "Back to the Future," "Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure," "Interstellar," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," or others chosen by the class.
Taught by: Ben Augenbraun
Catalog detailsCHEM 12(W) STU The Practice and Processes of Making Pottery
This course will introduce students to creative methods of working with clay and glazes to create functional pottery, and to the materials and processes of ceramics. Classes will take placein a working Williamstown pottery studio with potter's wheels and space for hand-building and discussions. Studio lessons are designed to stimulate creativity and discovery. Instruction and projects will be tailored to each student's interests, experiences, and abilities. Students will be encouraged to consider how value and beauty can be found in that which is incomplete, impermanent, and/or imperfect. Genuineness and authenticity will be encouraged and valued. We will learn about the origins and properties of clay and glaze materials and about how combinations of materials and the high temperature processes result in mature clay bodies and glazes. We will study the major components of glazes and how the manipulation of these materials changes how glazes appear and function. Evaluation for this course will include a final project, and the critical review of the same. Assessment will take place during individual discussion with the instructor during the construction and finishing processes and in a structured, group critique where finished work will be evaluated by all members of the class through a group discussion led by the instructor. No previous experience is necessary. The only prerequisite for this course is an honest interest in learning about the making and chemistry of pottery. Studio time will likely be afternoons and early evenings, with an optional weekend session to accommodate schedules. Class time is about 12 hours weekly, and may include some outside of class reading and other assignments.
Taught by: Timothy Duncan
Catalog detailsCHEM 16(W) LEC Glass and Glassblowing
This course provides an introduction to both a theoretical consideration of the glassy state of matter and the practical manipulation of glass. We do flameworking with hand torches for atleast 12 hours per week. While no previous experience is required, students with patience, good hand-eye coordination, and creative imagination will find the course most rewarding. The class is open to both artistically and scientifically oriented students. Note: if you are required to participate in a sustaining language program during Winter Study, this course meets at the same time. The first and last classes are required, so make your travel plans accordingly.
Taught by: John Thoman
Catalog detailsCHEM 18(W) RSC Introduction to Research in Biochemistry
An independent experimental project in biochemistry is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in biochemistry. Biochemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals withthe molecular details of living systems including the interaction of biologically important molecules. In the Chemistry Department, studies are underway to investigate the structure/function relationship of proteins, the interaction between proteins and RNA and DNA, the molecular basis of bacterial gene regulation, the lipid composition of model membranes, and the molecular underpinnings of viral infection.
Taught by: Bob Rawle, Amy Gehring
Catalog detailsCHEM 24(W) RSC Introduction to Research in Physical Chemistry
An independent experimental or theoretical project in physical chemistry is carried out in collaboration with a member of the Department with expertise in physical chemistry. Current research projects in theDepartment include computer modeling of non-linear, chaotic chemical and biochemical systems, atmospheric chemical dynamics, molecular modeling of water clusters, molecular dynamics simulations, and laser spectroscopy of chlorofluorocarbon substitutes.
Taught by: Enrique Peacock-López, Ben Augenbraun
Catalog detailsCHEM 31(W) HON Senior Research and Thesis: Chemistry
To be taken by students registered for Chemistry 493, 494.
Taught by: Thomas Smith
Catalog detailsCHEM 99(W) IND Independent Study: Chemistry
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Thomas Smith
Catalog detailsCHIN 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Chinese
To be taken by all students who are candidates for honors in Chinese.
Taught by: Man He
Catalog detailsCHIN 88(W) LAB Chinese Sustaining Program
Students registered for CHIN 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Chinese Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program¿check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Yen-Yu Lin, Xuechan Dai
Catalog detailsCHIN 99(W) IND Independent Study: Chinese
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Man He
Catalog detailsCLAS 11(W) STU Fundamentals of Baking
Baking is at once both precise and intuitive. This course will empower novice bakers with the knowledge and confidence to make baking their own. We will focus on the "how"and "why" of baking to understand what's occurring as each ingredient goes into the mix. Students will bake alongside the instructor as well as on their own, tweaking, troubleshooting, and customizing recipes. Over three weeks, students will experiment with cookies, quick breads, and cakes, and the final week will be dedicated to a project of their own choosing. Readings will supplement this hands-on course.
Taught by: Caleb Wolfson-Seeley
Catalog detailsCLAS 13(W) STU Advanced Techniques in Baking
This course will build upon students' basic baking skills to increase confidence and understanding of more technically challenging topics. Students will expand their repertoire, refine techniques with tips and advice,and have fun baking in a community atmosphere. Over three weeks, students will experiment with bread, laminated pastry, and pies and tarts, and the final week will be dedicated to a project of their own choosing. Readings will supplement this hands-on course.
Taught by: Caleb Wolfson-Seeley
Catalog detailsCLAS 24(W) SEM Re/Constitution: A Collaborative Project in Constitution-Making and Amending
This course will ask students to engage with the history of the making and ratification of the United States Constitution, for the purpose of working, collaboratively, to amend the Constitutionin a mock constitutional convention. Students will be provided with materials on the 1787 Philadelphia Convention as well as the Reconstruction Congresses to help them understand the process of constitution-making and constitutional amendment. They will also read selections on American politics and political history, particularly those dealing with questions surrounding the nature and scope of American democracy. The goal is to use these materials as the groundwork for a deliberative process where students will attempt to amend, or even rewrite, the Constitution. Evaluation will be based on full participation in class activities, including public presentations. NOTE: While Jamelle Bouie is the sole instructor, all inquiries about the course should be directed to Edan Dekel ([email protected]) or Christopher Nugent ([email protected]).
Taught by: Christopher M. B. Nugent, Edan Dekel, Jamelle Bouie
Catalog detailsCLAS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Classics
May be taken by students registered for Classics 493-494.
Taught by: Edan Dekel
Catalog detailsCLAS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Classics
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Edan Dekel
Catalog detailsCLGR 99(W) IND Independent Study: Greek
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Edan Dekel
Catalog detailsCLIA 11(W) LEC Teaching 3rd Grade about Zebrafish - BioEYES
BioEYES brings tropical fish to 3rd-grade classrooms in Williamstown and Lanesborough Elementary schools, in a science teaching workshop. Elementary school students will breed fish at the school, then study theirdevelopment and pigmentation for one week. Williams students will adapt BioEYES lesson plans to the science curriculum for the schools we visit, work with classroom teachers to introduce concepts in genetics and development, help the 3rd-grade students in the classroom, and assess elementary student learning. No zebrafish experience or science expertise is necessary. All training is provided. During the first week, Williams students will learn to set up fish matings and review BioEYES lesson plans on embryonic development and the genetics of fish pigmentation. In small groups, students will practice teach hands-on experiments using living animals. In the subsequent three weeks, students will present lessons at the schools and review assessment data. Time commitment: Week 1 - approx. 6 hours total for program training and lesson preparation with additional outside-of-class time needed to create teaching posters, dates, and times TBD Weeks 2 & 3 - approx. 3 hours per day, times TBD, dependent on elementary school schedules during the regular school day between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm. Week 4 - TBD; 3 hours per day if running a school program; minimal hours if not running an elementary school program
Taught by: Renee Schiek, Martha Marvin
Catalog detailsCLIA 12(W) LEC "Be"ing Whole; integrating mindfulness through movement, art, nature, and creativity
Want to focus this winter study on being more present and on your sense of well-being? In this year's "rendition" of the class on "Be"ing and learning how to maintain/reachhomeostasis in the autonomic nervous system (balancing "fight or flight" and the "rest and digest" parts of our nervous system) we will explore the neuroscience behind why mindfulness practices can help restore the homeostasis of a stressed nervous system while practicing different types of mindful movement (yoga, hiking, walking, etc.), creative art and grounding mindfulness activities (making lavender pillows, slime, stress balls, "yoga" prose, and engaging in games, etc.), and meditative exercises (body scans, loving-kindness, etc.) Each class will start with an invigorating/challenging yoga flow (modifications are always welcome, taught, and encouraged) and will then continue to highlight a specific activity followed by a 5-10 minute journal prompt. The final project will be for students to take what they've learned about mindfulness exercises and practices as well as their own physical and psychological reactions to these practices and to customize a toolkit that includes soothing reminders, activities, prompts, and supplies. What to Expect: - -Playful yoga practices; we will explore having fun with movement and breath while challenging ourselves with possible arm balances and even playing around with some inversions! -Calming meditative practices - loving-kindness, gratitude, body scans, visualization exercises - Creative mindfulness through art (observing art, creating mandalas, other tactile or sensory activities) - Mindful outdoor/nature exploration (adapted based on the weather - mud or snow - hopefully it's snow! - Creating a customized kit for self-soothing during - At least one visit (possibly more depending on class size) into local elementary schools to teach yoga and mindfulness; we will "practice" kids yoga games to fully embrace our inner childhood!
Taught by: Amy Sosne
Catalog detailsCLIA 13(W) LEC Depictions and Portrayals of Minoritized Identities in Picture Books
In this course, students will examine and reexamine everything they thought they knew about picture books. Often thought of as books for children, what can these seemingly simple books teachus about ourselves and our world? During the class, we will look at three sets of minoritized identities: racially minoritized identities, body diversity and disability, gender identities and sexual orientation, and the intersections of all of the above, as depicted in cutting-edge picture books of today. Books include: Big by Vashti Harrison Papá's Magical Water Jug Clock by Jesús Trejo and Eliza Kinkz Watercress by Andrea Wang The Artivist by Nicholas Smith Homeland by Hannah Moushabeck We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom and more! Beyond simply reading these books, students will explore how to use picture books to open and guide difficult conversations with children, mitigate the harm caused by books presented without understanding and context, and learn how to create and monitor a diverse, rich picture book library. Students will have the opportunity to visit a local children's bookstore, tour the picture book collections of local libraries, and participate in a panel discussion with picture book authors, picture book Instagrammers, and illustrators. By the end of the course, students will have a foundational understanding of the modern picture book landscape. They will be able to find, evaluate, and select books for a diverse picture book library and monitor that library for any gaps in representation they might need to fill. This class would be perfect for aspiring teachers, librarians, or anyone with a love of and interest in books. Students will leave this class with the start of a picture book library!
Taught by: Ash Bell
Catalog detailsCLIA 14(W) SEM Food Justice and the Righteous Entrepreneur
DC Central Kitchen, an iconic, food-based social enterprise that was founded in 1989 to turn the notion of charity on its head, has been at the forefront the of foodaccess, food justice, economic opportunity and racial equity for over three decades. The Kitchen's CEO, Mike Curtin '86, will lead the class on an exploration of these issue through the lens of DC Central Kitchen's growth and evolution. The class also work through the Kitchen's experiences during the pandemic and the simultaneous racial reckoning that highlighted the fragility of our food system, the thin line between food security and insecurity for so many, and the structural and systemic inequalities that create these realities. In addition to using as text Food Fighters, A History of DC Central Kitchen, by Alex Moore, the Kitchen's Chief Development Officer, the class will explore DC Central Kitchen's Eight Rules for Righteous Entrepreneurs, principles that have defined the organization's impact. The class will also discuss the basics of nonprofit management and the roles that social enterprise and innovation can have in disrupting a more traditional nonprofit structure. Guest speakers who are also engaged in the fight against hunger and for systemic changes to our food system and access to economic opportunity and liberation will join the class to share their work and challenge students to look at food justice from environmental, legal, political, racial and economic perspectives. Past guests have included chef and humanitarian, Jose Andres; Pulitzer Prize winning author, Marcia Chatalain; former US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Kathleen Merrigan '80; Congressman Jim McGovern; food and fracial justice activist, Chris Bradshaw; Chef activists including Tom Colicchio, Michel Nishan and Andrew Zimmerman, and several DC Central Kitchen alumni and staff.
Taught by: Mike Curtin
Catalog detailsCLIA 21(W) SEM INTRODUCTION TO ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP
This course enables students to learn the theory and practice of community-engaged scholarship while engaging in a small partnership project with a community organization or initiative. Engaged scholarship is understoodas mutually beneficial learning partnerships between higher education institutions and community entities addressing pressing social and civic issues. Through brief readings, class discussions, and meetings with community partners, students will learn the history and context of engaged scholarship, explore the ethical, political, and cultural issues associated with this work, and improve their understanding of the Berkshires and town/gown relations. Through their project work supported by the Center for Learning in Action, students will learn how to navigate the simultaneous challenges of engaging as learners, collaborators, knowledge co-creators, and social change agents.
Taught by: Paula Consolini
Catalog detailsCLIA 24(W) SEM Class of 1959 TeachNYC Urban Education Program
The Williams Class of 1959 Teach New York Program is a fantastic Winter Study Course which gives students an opportunity to teach in challenging K-12 urban school settings. Each yearbetween up to eight sophomores, juniors and seniors participate in this intense experience that takes them worlds away from the traditional college classroom setting. Students use the program as an opportunity to explore their interest in different areas education-teaching, policy, pedagogy, reform- while also having a three week adventure in one of the greatest cities in the world. In the end, students return from this experience with a greater appreciation for the complex world of urban education as well as the daily challenges that teachers and under-resourced students face on a daily basis. Students are matched with an elementary, middle or high school classroom and subject area of their interest. They spend weekdays working closely with a mentor teacher. Depending on their interest level, they will tutor individual students and groups, create lesson plans, lead discussions and even teach a subject if they desire. While in New York, the group convenes for weekly dinner meetings where they process their experience with teachers, principals and experts in urban education. These events are hosted by Program Director Tracy Finnegan.
Taught by: Tracy Finnegan
Catalog detailsCLLA 99(W) IND Independent Study: Latin
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Edan Dekel
Catalog detailsCMAJ 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Contract Major
To be taken by students registered for Contract Major 493, 494.
Taught by: Amanda Turner
Catalog detailsCMAJ 99(W) IND Independent Study: Contract Major
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Amanda Turner
Catalog detailsCOGS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Cognitive Science
May be taken by students registered for Cognitive Science 494.
Taught by: Joseph Cruz
Catalog detailsCOGS 99(W) IND Ind Study: Cognitive Science
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Joseph Cruz
Catalog detailsCOMP 13(W) LEC On Stupidity
This course is guided by what is perhaps the wisest question in literary-cultural criticism: "What is stupidity?" Since the early modern period, the pursuit of knowledge by means of reasonhas redefined what it is to know and to be knowledgeable. But what about the other side of the coin - what can we glean from not knowing, or refusing to know? In this course, we will consider the stupidest books, the stupidest authors, and the stupidest readers in the Germanic and Slavic literary traditions. Looking at opera, film, and theater, we will discuss the role of media in the expression of stupidity. We also will reflect on which freedoms stupidity allows cultural expression, especially under oppressive regimes. Engaging with philosophical writings on stupidity (Kant, Bakhtin, Horkheimer and Adorno, Kristeva), literary representations of stupidity (Rilke, Hölderlin, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Erofeev, Kafka, Walser), operatic depictions of the buffoon (Mozart and Schnittke), we will consider the many variations on the trope of stupidity such as idiocy and poetic courage, sublime dumbness and speechlessness, willful ignorance and notions of the "sheep", resistant and alternative forms of knowledge in stock figures such as the buffoon and the holy fool. Class meetings will consist of mini-lectures, free writing opportunities, discussions, and activities. Outside of the classroom, students will write three mini essays applying terms and ideas from our theoretical materials to literary works of their choice. The course will culminate in a final project shared in a class reception in the last session. The language of instruction will be English, but students with a reading knowledge of Russian and German will have the opportunity to read and discuss our materials in the original language. By the end of the course, students will have mastered stupidity and will have the ability to apply it to their remaining undergraduate coursework.
Taught by: Mercer M. W. Greenwald, Jemma Paek
Catalog detailsCOMP 15(W) SEM Comics and Visual Thinking
What can we learn by reading comics or other examples of "sequential art?" Even more interesting, what can we teach others by creating sequential drawings? We will study comics thatuse a series of drawn images to convey a narrative--whether that is a fictional story (Frank Miller's Batman, Tezuka Osamu's manga), a factual history (Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother?), a scientific experiment (Eadweard Muybridge's Animal Locomotion, Henry Reich's Minute Physics), or a critical argument (Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics). Logistics permitting, we'll also take an optional field trip to The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont to meet with comic artists and instructors. Students will have a choice of final projects: write a paper analyzing a favorite comic or produce an original narrative comic of their own.
Taught by: Christopher Bolton
Catalog detailsCOMP 16(W) SEM Introduction to Swedish Language and Culture
Välkomna & Welcome! Intended for beginners (with no or little previous study of Swedish), this is an introductory course in Swedish studies, with a focus on Swedish language, culture, literature,and film. Through daily practice, class activities, interactive discussion, listening exercises, written work, and active engagement with music, texts, and film, you will quickly build the foundation for speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Swedish. In addition, we will read, watch, and discuss several fascinating texts and films, as a dynamic introduction to Swedish literature and cinema, and to both the history and culture of Sweden and Swedish-speaking communities in Scandinavia and beyond. Literature and film to include works by August Strindberg, Hjalmar Söderberg, Selma Lagerlöf, Edith Södergran, Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson, Reidar Jönsson, Ingmar Bergman, Lasse Hallström, and Lukas Moodysson.
Taught by: Brian Martin
Catalog detailsCOMP 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Comparative Literature
To be taken by students registered for Comparative Literature 493-494.
Taught by: Christopher Bolton
Catalog detailsCOMP 99(W) IND Independent Study: Comparative Literature
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Christopher Bolton
Catalog detailsCSCI 10(W) LEC Unix and Software Tools
This course serves as a guided introduction to the Unix operating system and a variety of software tools. Students in this course will work on Unix workstations, available in theDepartment's laboratory. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with Unix and will be able to use Git as a collaborative tool. As a final project, students will work together in teams to explore an API of their choice. The exact topics to be covered may vary depending upon the needs and desires of the students. The course is designed for individuals who understand basic program development techniques as discussed in an introductory programming course (Computer Science 134 or equivalent), but who wish to become familiar with a broader variety of computer systems and programming languages. This course is not intended for students who have completed a course at the 200 level or above.
Taught by: Lida Doret
Catalog detailsCSCI 13(W) SEM User Experience Design: Designing for People
Many innovative products and entrepreneurial endeavors fail because they are not sensitive to the attitudes and behaviors of the people who interact with them. The fields of User Experience (UX)Design and Design Thinking combine aspects of psychology with software development, behavioral economics, architecture, and other fields, to create products and processes that provide an easy, enjoyable, efficient, and safe user experience. The course will provide students with a theoretical framework for analyzing usability, as well as practical experience with iterative design techniques, prototyping, and user testing and feedback. Students will demonstrate their understanding of UX theory through short presentations and participation in class discussions. Students will work in small groups to identify a usability problem and design a solution which they will evaluate by heuristic analysis and usability testing with human test subjects.
Taught by: Rich Cohen
Catalog detailsCSCI 16(W) SEM Introduction to the Computer Science Research Process
This course introduces students to the research process in Computer Science. Students will learn how to critically read research papers and to find relevant related work. They will also learnabout experimental design and data visualization. Students will apply these skills in the context of a specific research paper, recreating some of the data collection, analysis, and data visualization from that paper. A flipped classroom approach will be used, with students watching recorded videos outside of class in preparation for in-class discussions and activities. Students will create a written research project proposal that describes how they plan to extend the research paper to answer a different question, including describing how the existing experimental framework would need to be modified and what experiments would need to be conducted. Assessment will be based on this written project proposal and an in-class oral presentation of that proposal.
Taught by: Kelly Shaw
Catalog detailsCSCI 17(W) LEC Fiber Arts for All
While fast fashion has taken over our lifestyles, the technology historically used to create our garments remain available to us today. In this class, we will focus specifically on theprocess of turning protein (animal) fiber into yarn, and into appealing fabric through handspinning, dyeing, tapestry weaving, and crocheting. We will use tools and techniques that are financially responsible, often leveraging found objects, to show that almost anyone can participate in the slow fashion and local fibershed movements.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsCSCI 18(W) LEC The Evolution of Magic: The Gathering - Deck Archetypes and Strategies from 1993 to Today
Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that has been in continuous development since 1993 and has featured regular high-level professional events since Pro Tour New York in 1996.In these competitive events, players construct their own sixty-card decks that must conform to the deckbuilding restrictions of the particular tournament environment. New card designs are regularly developed, and the release of these cards in new expansions increases the size of the available card pool and also introduces new rules and strategies to the game. Since competitive decks must carefully consider card synergies, the design of newly introduced cards influences the balance among various competitive strategies. This class will study the evolution of deck designs throughout Magic's thirty-year existence. It will focus on the elements that define classic archetypes, so-called "Aggro", "Combo", and "Control", as well as elements that define the hybrid strategies present in many tournament environments. By studying representative tournament environments from different Magic eras, we will appreciate the ways that shifts in card design philosophy continuously shape tournament metagames.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsCSCI 19(W) LEC Law, Cybersecurity, and Society
The connected world presents a new set of capabilities, and associated risks. In this course, we will explore the intersection of cybersecurity, legal frameworks, jurisdictions, and the ethics linking themall. Using examples of past hacking incidents, we will work together to identify and explore different vulnerabilities inherent in today's systems and technologies that hackers exploit. Simultaneously, we will explore the costs and benefits implicit in various approaches to regulating these different hacking behaviors through societal mores and political, economic and legal mechanisms. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with important cybersecurity events and changes, how they have influenced the law, and how the law has shaped the development of the modern connected world. The evaluation will be through a paper of 10 pages or less, or other approaches agreed upon with the instructors.
Taught by: Rich Ward, John Massaro
Catalog detailsCSCI 23(W) RSC Research and Development in Computing
An independent project is completed in collaboration with a member of the Computer Science Department. The projects undertaken will either involve the exploration of a research topic related to thefaculty member's work or the implementation of a software system that will extend the students design and implementation skills. It is expected that the student will spend 20 hours per week working on the project. At the completion of the project, each student will submit a 10-page written report or the software developed together with appropriate documentation of its behavior and design. In addition, students will be expected to give a short presentation or demonstration of their work. Prior to the beginning of the Winter Study registration period, any student interested in enrolling must have arranged with a faculty member in the department to serve as their supervisor for the course.
Taught by: Jeannie R Albrecht
Catalog detailsCSCI 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Computer Science
To be taken by students registered for Computer Science 493-494.
Taught by: Jeannie R Albrecht
Catalog detailsCSCI 99(W) IND Independent Study: Computer Science
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Jeannie R Albrecht
Catalog detailsDANC 10(W) STU Taiji Flow: Connecting to Nature and Self Through Meditative Movement
Sync up with winter's restorative vibe and replenish your deep energy stores with meditative movement based in qigong and Chen style taiji quan (tai chi). We'll use the movement toexplore and embody themes of fluidity and flow, natural rhythms and cycles, traversing poles of a spectrum, and finding ease within tension and exertion at the physical, mental and emotional levels. We'll examine our relationship to the space within and around us, integrating interoception and proprioception. We'll work on balance, stability, alignment, joint flexibility and articulation, developing strength with minimal force, and cultivating a relaxed mental space for optimal clarity, creativity and play. Classes are hybrid studio/seminar: approx 70% movement practice, 30% study of culture, history, philosophy, and language analysis of relevant terms in Mandarin Chinese. Students will have assigned readings and a daily course journal to complete. Students will establish an independent daily practice schedule to nurture the habit as well as to collect questions and observations for class. Evaluation is based on constancy and quality of engagement, a written reflection of the student's experience in the course (min 500 words) including the student's self-assessment, and a final individual and group movement demonstration with audience to be agreed upon by the cohort. Though this course employs material with a specific cultural heritage as a launching point, our goal is to utilize these tools to investigate topics common across the human experience. Our objectives include self-expression and emotional regulation through movement and play, identifying imbalances and alleviating discomfort in one's being, implementing consistent self-care habits, and consciously reconnecting internally to self and externally to the environment. This course is open to all backgrounds, levels of experience, and chosen identities.Williams community members interested in auditing the course should contact the instructor.
Taught by: Deborah Ourah
Catalog detailsECON 15(W) SEM Introduction to Management Consulting
Introduction to Management Consulting provides a broad overview of the management consulting industry from the perspective of an experienced practitioner. The objectives of the class are to provide a realworld view as to what consultants do and to help prepare students who are considering joining a management consulting firm post-Williams. The class will begin with a broad discussion of the differences in the types of business consulting and how management consulting firms are utilized by corporations and private equity firms. The next section will introduce the complexities in developing successful business strategies and review common frameworks for structuring strategic analysis. Students will then be provided instruction on (and practice with) the tools utilized by strategy consultants to analyze markets, evaluate competitive environments, synthesize customer information, and perform financial analysis in order to develop growth strategies. Additionally, one class session will be devoted to tips for getting a job in management consulting including how to ace case interviews. The final small group project will entail the development and delivery of a consulting presentation for a business with a strategic need.
Taught by: Peter McKelvey
Catalog detailsECON 22(W) LEC Volunteer Income Tax Assistant
This experiential course provides students with the opportunity to explore public policy through training and work as volunteer income tax preparers for low-income working people in North Adams, Massachusetts. Bythe end of the term, students will be IRS-certified volunteer income tax preparers. Students will progress through the IRS "Link and Learn" online tax preparer training program that leads to certification, both in class and on their own time.Class sessions will also include several lectures/discussions that offer a brief overview of the U.S. income tax and its history, as well its relationship to U.S. social policy (especially policy towards lower-income households). This year's course is co-taught by a behavioral economist, and thus some class time will be devoted to discussing the psychological aspects of filing taxes, both when filing for yourself and when serving as a volunteer assistant for low-income clients. At the end of the term, students have the option of writing a 10-page analytic essay or serving as volunteer tax preparers for local clients of the Berkshire Community Action Council. Note: This course satisfies the Political Economy Major Experiential Learning requirement.
Taught by: Matthew Chao, Aimee Kathleen Reische
Catalog detailsECON 23(W) SEM Investing With Purpose: The planning and practice of endowment investing
Are you eager to learn about investing? Or perhaps you are interested in non-profits and want to understand how endowments support their mission? Maybe you've thought about a potential careerin finance, but want to know the difference between asset management and investment banking? ECON 23 is open to students of all majors and backgrounds; students with no prior experience are welcome and encouraged to apply. ECON 23 is designed to introduce students to investing and equip students with key industry knowledge and skills. The course is taught by members of the Williams College Investment Office, which oversee the college's $3.5 billion endowment. We'll start with an introduction to the role that the endowment plays in supporting the college's mission. Next, the course will cover different investment assets including equity, hedge funds, venture capital, private equity, fixed income, and impact investing. Students will receive a brief overview of accounting and will have the opportunity to learn about different career paths in finance. Through discussions, readings, and a group case study, students will apply skills learned. Students will learn from practicing investment professionals through guest speakers and will gain practical skills in Microsoft Excel through training and project work. The course will conclude with a required trip to Boston, where the class will spend the day with the Investment Office team and network with Williams alumni working in endowment management, private equity, consulting, and more. The course is open to first-years, sophomores, and juniors. To apply, please email [email protected] by 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, October 20, 2024 your resume and a brief personal statement discussing how your background and curiosity inform your interest in this course and what you hope to gain from it. For students without a resume prepared, ensure your personal statement contains relevant information you wish to convey
Taught by: Morgan Kochard
Catalog detailsECON 24(W) LEC The Economics, Geography and Appreciation of Wine
This course provides an introduction to the economics, geography and appreciation of wine. We will be studying the economics and geography of wine production, and will also learn to identify,understand and appreciate the major wine types of the world. The course will involve lectures, outside readings, discussions, and in-class wine tastings. We will focus primarily on the Old World wine styles and regions of France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain and Portugal, but will also cover some New World wine regions including California, Oregon, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia among others.
Taught by: Peter Pedroni
Catalog detailsECON 25(W) LEC Advanced Topics in Economic Theory
This course will cover advanced, graduate-level topics in economic theory, potentially including topics in game theory, mechanism design, contract theory, global games, and macroeconomics. Emphasis on mathematical proofs and tools.
Taught by: Greg Phelan, Burak Uras
Catalog detailsECON 28(W) SEM Product Management and Solution Design
In this course, students will work in small teams to design a software product that solves a problem of their choosing. To support this endeavor, we will examine, critique, andapply methodologies intended to solve these problems, including those developed by Marty Cagan, Steve Blank, Don Norman, Steve Krug, and Eric Ries. Students will learn to act as effective product managers, achieving alignment between business, technology, and UI/UX design. Such alignment is crucial given that technology projects often fail not because of the quality of technical engineering but due to misalignment in these three areas. Google Glass failed to account for its price tag, fashion, and the privacy panic. The initial Obamacare website failed to address management issues and predict the volume of website visitors. Flexcube failed to update and incorporate users into the design of their product, resulting in a $500 M UX mistake for Citi bank. These organizations did not identify the right problem, or did not build the right solution. The underlying conflict is IT teams like to be told what to build, but users often do not know what they want or how to express it. We will learn how product managers and their interdisciplinary teams can bridge that gap.
Taught by: Allan Wellenstein
Catalog detailsECON 30(W) HON Honors Project: Economics
The "Specialization Route" to the degree with Honors in Economics requires that each candidate take an Honors Winter Study Project in January of their senior year. Students who wish tobegin their honors work in January should submit a detailed proposal. Decisions on admission to the Honors WSP will be made in the fall. Information on the procedures will be mailed to senior majors in economics early in the fall semester. Seniors who wish to apply for admission to the Honors WSP and thereby to the Honors Program should register for this WSP as their first choice. Some seniors will have begun honors work in the fall and wish to complete it in the WSP. They will be admitted to the WSP if they have made satisfactory progress. They should register for this WSP as their first choice.
Taught by: Jon Bakija
Catalog detailsECON 31(W) HON Honors Thesis: Economics
To be taken by students participating in year-long thesis research Economics 493-494.
Taught by: Jon Bakija
Catalog detailsECON 33(W) LEC Climate and Energy Finance
How do we finance the energy transition? How do we use money to mitigate the worst effects of global warming? How can a career in finance fight climate change? Thiscourse introduces students to key topics, market players, and tools in climate and energy finance and surveys how to mobilize capital to finance clean energy (largely in a U.S. energy market context) and other climate-forward outcomes. Students will learn fundamental financial and investment concepts, including basic capital structures, three-statement models, and project finance. Students will explore sectors for decarbonization beyond energy, including food systems, buildings, and transportation. All modules will emphasize equity and social justice challenges and successes. Some modules may even be fun. Throughout, students will learn about market participants in each area and hear from guest speakers so that they may complete the course with a better understanding of careers at the intersection of climate change and finance.
Taught by: Kaitlin Butler
Catalog detailsECON 36(W) SEM The Liberal Arts in Investing
Consider the following quotes and questions: "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been." -Maya Angelou "Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavioraccordingly." -Charlie Munger Why does the CEO of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, responsible for investing $1.6 trillion, have Master's Degrees in the History of Art and Social Psychology? How can a generalist background compete in a world of increasing specialization? This course explores the intersection of liberal arts education and the field of investing. Investors such as family offices and foundations see a wide spectrum of the finance world through their investments across asset classes, geographies, sectors, and styles. Given this breadth of exposure, a broad educational background provides an advantageous toolkit for evaluating investment opportunities and building strong connections across the industry. By studying examples from subjects such as psychology, biology, history, economics, and more, students will see how interdisciplinary learnings can be applied to investments in asset classes such as public equities, venture capital, real assets, and more. Consider artificial intelligence (AI), which many consider a generational investment opportunity. While specialists may only understand narrow aspects of this mega-trend, a well-rounded investor will draw lessons from historical examples of disruptive technologies, examine philosophical and ethical considerations, and evaluate potential implications across a variety fields. Between class discussions, readings, weekly reflections, and a final presentation, students will leave this class with an appreciation for the quotes and questions listed above. The only prerequisite is intellectual curiosity! All backgrounds, regardless of intent to work in finance, are encouraged to apply. All costs (books, films, optional coffee chats, etc.) will be covered by the instructor.
Taught by: Jack Bissell
Catalog detailsECON 37(W) SEM Storytelling in Business
The liberal arts graduate interested in pursuing a corporate career may at first feel disadvantaged by their lack of a business, marketing, or communications major. However, it is precisely thecore liberal arts skill set - research, critical thinking, persuasive writing, creativity - that is most valued in a corporate context. A key attribute of the successful businessperson is their ability to influence people and to spark change; storytelling is one of the most powerful tools by which to do so. In this interactive course, students will practice the art of storytelling in the business domain. We will begin by exploring the power of stories across the course of human history and in contemporary society today. From there, we will examine first-hand how quantitative information can serve as an effective means of marshalling evidence in support of a story. For better or worse, PowerPoint is the primary communications vehicle inside large businesses, so the next phase of the course will deal with telling stories through slide presentations. Finally, we will close with a session on how to tell your own story, which will be an important part of securing a job and progressing your career. Throughout the course, students will be required to present in front of their peers, culminating in the delivery of a final slide presentation on a topic of each student's choice. Additionally, the course will feature a number of guest speakers from various business backgrounds (e.g. tech start-up, venture capital, corporate messaging) who pitch and evaluate business stories every day.
Taught by: Laurence Birdsey
Catalog detailsECON 38(W) SEM Case Studies: How the Internet Created a Cultural and Business Revolution
How did new technology companies harness the power of the Internet to disrupt traditional industries and create new categories of culture and commerce during the past 25 years? What managementdecisions led to the early demise of both emerging and once-dominant media businesses? In this Business Case Study Class, we will study the evolution of Internet technology, culture, and commerce through the lens of an emerging business and the issues that they were wrestling with on the path to success (or failure). Each case study will present a company's story with historical industry analysis and a specific range of issues and problems for which students are asked to discuss, debate, analyze, and ultimately take a position to solve complex problems. The case studies will follow business categories that include e-commerce, advertising, media publishing, social media, and on-demand sharing, through the lens of successfully disruptive businesses that include Amazon, Google, Netflix, Facebook, Airbnb, and Uber and failed businesses such as AOL, Myspace, and Blockbuster. Required Texts: Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, Penguin Group (USA), 2008. How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson, Penguin Group (USA), 2018. Understanding Michael Porter by Joan Magretta, Harvard Business Press, 2011. Weekly news and scholarly articles related to each case study In addition to the readings, students will be asked to lead and participate in class discussion, produce short writing assignments, develop independent case analyses, and complete a take-home final exam.
Taught by: Michael Cohen
Catalog detailsECON 51 / ECON 29(W) LEC Infrastructure Policy in Developing Countries
This is a CDE winter term course, open to undergraduates. Students will be introduced to policy-making challenges of infrastructure, with a focus on developing countries. Students will read and discusscase studies on how different countries have sought to address infrastructure challenges through policy interventions. Through these, students are expected to develop an appreciation for different elements of infrastructure policy, and how countries have succeeded - or not - in using policies to meet their development objectives. The course will touch on evolving energy technologies, different transportation sectors, public-private partnerships, infrastructure financing and the impacts of climate change. The course approach is applied political economy as opposed to theory, and there are no prerequisites. Case examples will be drawn from a range of developing countries, covering Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions, and will write a paper and deliver a team presentation on ways in which infrastructure challenges can be approached in a country of their choosing.
Taught by: Bernard Sheahan
Catalog detailsECON 52 / ECON 26(W) LEC Micro-Simulation Modeling for Ex Ante Policy Analysis
Micro-simulation modeling provides one of the most powerful tools for ex ante evidence-based analysis of economic and social policy interventions. Rooted in representative household surveys of a country's population, themodels provide a picture of poverty, employment, consumption and income levels throughout the country. A micro-simulation model enables researchers to investigate the impact of existing economic and social policy interventions (such as tax and public benefit interventions) on income levels, poverty, inequality and other outcomes. In addition, researchers are able to simulate the impact and estimate the cost of new policy interventions. During this course, students will learn to apply these methods to analyze public policies and interpret the findings. The course examines measurement issues, analytical tools and their application to household survey data for a range of developing countries. The course also links the outcomes of the analysis with the challenges of policy implementation, exploring how the political environment and/or institutional setting may result in the implementation of second-best options. This is a hands-on modeling course, and students will build a micro-simulation model for a country of their choice and use this model in completing the course requirements. The course will employ Excel, Stata and advanced micro-simulation packages. The final requirement for the course is a policy paper that provides students with an opportunity to write accessible prose that communicates the methodology adopted and the key lessons of the analysis
Taught by: Michael Samson
Catalog detailsECON 53 / ECON 34(W) LEC Data for Development
Recently we have experienced an explosion in publicly available data sources that can be helpful to inform development research. This course is designed to provide hands-on experience using microeconomic datato assess trends in key indicators used to measure progress towards the sustainable development goals. The course will build students' skills in finding, accessing and using various data sources. It will also expose students to the range of new types of data for development. Students will build skills in data cleaning, data manipulation and data visualization techniques. The course will use Stata, and most of the course will involve hands-on in-class data workshops, interspersed with some lectures and readings. Each student will focus on a low- or middle-income country of their choice and produce a policy report using the data skills acquired during the course.
Taught by: Pamela Jakiela
Catalog detailsECON 55(W) LEC Monetary Policy in Emerging and Developing Economies
The goal of the class is to help you become an effective macroeconomic policy analyst. Specifically, you will acquire experience in obtaining, manipulating, and presenting macroeconomic data, learn how toeffectively communicate economic ideas and analysis in writing, and hone oral presentation skills. The focus will be on four practical issues encountered in the formulation and implementation of monetary policy: (1) estimating monetary policy rules, (2) measuring potential output, (3) modeling inflation, and (4) understanding monetary policy transmission. The course will entail writing a case study in which you will use macroeconomic theory as a guide for interpreting macroeconomic data, and a policy memo in which you will make a case for a specific policy action based on sound theoretical and empirical analysis.
Taught by: Kenneth Kuttner
Catalog detailsECON 57(W) LEC Independent Research: Economic Policy
Independent research in Economic Policy.
Taught by: Quamrul Ashraf
Catalog detailsECON 99(W) IND Independent Study: Economics
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period. Winter Study 99 projects sponsored by the economics department must adhere to a specific set of rules outlined on the economics department website at (https://econ.williams.edu/major/economics-winter-study-99-guidelines/). Please review these rules well in advance of the deadline.
Taught by: Jon Bakija
Catalog detailsENGL 12(W) LEC D.I.Y. Publications: Paper, Print, and Power
Like most western institutions, the field of traditional publishing has been, and continues to be deeply shaped by power dynamics that more often than not leave out the voices ofthe most marginalized members of society. Zines, chapbooks, artist books, blogs, and other "do-it-yourself" (D.I.Y.) forms of publication have served as mechanisms of communication, expression, and community building that give voice to marginalized creators. Through engagement with readings, discussion, local field trips, and items in the libraries' collection, this course will explore the historical and social dynamics that have shaped the current landscape of D.I.Y. publishing. At the same time, this course will provide space and resources for students of all skill levels and backgrounds to develop their own practical publishing skills, from content generation to production and distribution. As a culminating project, students will complete one or more D.I.Y. publications of their own design, submitted with a short reflection paper. Class time (three 2-hour sessions per week) will be split between shared experiences, discussion of weekly themes presented in the reading, and hands on time exploring different methods that can be utilized in the creation of their own publication. Enrolled students will be expected to complete reading and additional studio/lab time outside of class, not expected to exceed 15 hours per week.
Taught by: Hale Polebaum-Freeman, Trevor Murphy
Catalog detailsENGL 19(W) SEM The Personal is Political: A Narrative Nonfiction Writing Workshop
Since St. Augustine's Confessions, great political thinkers have crafted personal stories as evidence of and witness to their own political times. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs told their stories tofurther the abolitionist movement. W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, and Simone de Beauvoir ushered us through the turbulent 20th century showing how the personal is political, and the political, personal. Today, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Suki Kim, Maggie Nelson, Kiese Laymon, and Claudia Rankine, among others, show us how well-crafted personal stories can bring important political ideas to the forefront of our collective imagination. Anticipating criticism of the form, Beauvoir wrote in the preface to her 1961 autobiography that "if any individual... reveals himself honestly, everyone, more or less, becomes involved. It is impossible for him to shed light on his own life without at some point illuminating the lives of others." In this workshop, you will do just that, crafting a personal nonfiction story in essay form. We'll meet for six hours each week, splitting our time between discussions of the published work we're reading and a workshop-setting discussion of the work you're producing. Your engagement with this class will occupy time outside of the classroom as well, during which you'll be engaged in the writing process and reading for class.
Taught by: Julia Munemo
Catalog detailsENGL 22(W) SEM Shakespeare's Love's Labor's Lost
A close study of Shakespeare's brilliant and strange comedy, Love's Labor's Lost, culminating in a performance. No prior experience in the theater is required, not least because your instructor is,in this area, an ignorant schoolmaster.
Taught by: Emily Vasiliauskas
Catalog detailsENGL 24(W) SEM The Craft of Fiction: A Short Story Intensive
In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott advises aspiring authors to approach writing in gradual steps (or, in her words, "bird by bird,") rather than being "immobilized by the hugeness ofthe task ahead." In this course, we too will move "bird by bird," through writing exercises that tackle the essentials of fiction. We will read the likes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Octavia Butler, Anton Chekhov, Stuart Dybek, Adam Johnson, Denis Johnson, Herman Melville, Lorrie Moore, Tim O'Brien, and Zadie Smith to parse and then practice the techniques these authors employ to create plot, structure conflict, establish characters, and make them talk. By studying an array of voices, students will find which cadences best fit their own work. We'll visit Arrowhead, Melville's Pittsfield house, to see where he wrote Moby Dick, as well as spend time in local museums, engaging closely with works of art there to further inspire and deepen our fiction. Beginning in Week Two, students will present their own works-in-progress, which we will discuss in a supportive workshop environment. At course's end, students will have polished a piece of short fiction, explored the beginnings of several new projects, and learned numerous techniques to keep them writing in the future. Evaluation will be based on workshop participation and classroom discussion, brief writing exercises, and a ten-page short story. Students are expected to spend an hour daily on their own fiction writing, in addition to the time required to complete each meeting's reading and writing exercises. We will typically meet twice a week for three hours, though occasionally the class may extend slightly beyond this timeframe given travel to and from field trip destinations.
Taught by: Sara W Houghteling
Catalog detailsENGL 25(W) STU Artists' and Writers' Notebooks
Artists, writers and thinkers have long kept notebooks as storehouses of ideas and spaces for experimentation. The most famous, perhaps, belong to Leonardo da Vinci but Frida Kahlo, Jack Whitten,Janice Lowry, Turner, Cezanne, Haring, Newton, Leibniz and others left us books of sketches, lists, calculations, collages and coffee stains within which we might trace the patterns of their days, the development of their ideas, and occasionally the phone numbers of their acquaintances. These archives offer a window into a moment in the thinker's life. In this studio seminar, we will visit Williams Library's Special Collections to delve into the sketchbooks and scrapbooks of illustrators and the zines and small press creations that bridge the private sphere of the notebook and the public world of the printed text. Most importantly, we will create our own books. Class meetings will be divided between archive visits and workshops. Following each archive visit, we will gather in a studio setting to explore techniques that have been used by the creators of the books we examine. These workshops will include painting, poetry, Lino printing, and collage. Our goal is to discover the modes in which we each, individually, communicate best on the page and then to use that mode to keep a journal of the winter study experience. Part of this practice is about being present, about recording experiences as they happen, in the voice of the person you are in that moment. Part of it is to build your own personal archive. The project and product of this seminar will be the art- or note- book you create. The work will take place both in the seminar space where you will engage in hands-on archival research and practical experimentation, and also outside the classroom where you will work independently to capture your winter study experience for future reflection. Syllabus available via email larameintjes(at)Berkeley.edu
Taught by: Lara Lee Meintjes
Catalog detailsENGL 28(W) LEC Adorno's Aesthetic Theory
Theodor Adorno was one of the twentieth century's most challenging thinkers-a German Jewish refugee who loathed the United States but ended up in Los Angeles, who had no hope forGermany but returned there after the war. His intellectual contributions are too extensive to list: He produced groundbreaking work in philosophy, musicology, literary criticism, sociology, and political theory. The last book he ever wrote was called Aesthetic Theory and summed up a lifetime of thinking about what had happened to art in the twentieth century. Its questions will be our questions: What is the responsibility of art in the face of suffering? What kind of art is possible in a world reduced to rubble? Is it possible to produce a form of art that does not dominate others, that cannot be put in the service of their domination? A word about the course's format: Aesthetic Theory is one of those rare books that can change the way you think about nearly everything. You can almost feel your brain shifting into a higher gear as you read it. It is also almost impossible to read on your own. So we will be reading Adorno together in class, actually going through the book sentence by sentence. We will meet every weekday for ninety minutes or two hours.
Taught by: Christian Thorne
Catalog detailsENGL 29(W) LEC The Observer, The Subject, and The Audience
In his book The Peregrine, British naturalist J.A. Baker suggests that obsession and loss of self is required for anyone looking to capture truth: "the hunter must become the thinghe hunts." This class will explore the practice of observation, with a focus on documentary film and nonfiction literature. What are the methods and strategies? What are the ethics and the cultural implications? Through film viewings and readings, students will gain an understanding of narrative styles, while discussing how ethical, practical, and aesthetic choices influence the relationship with both the subject and the intended audience. Work will include six to eight hours of weekly viewing, and a similar amount of reading.
Taught by: Phil Wall
Catalog detailsENGL 30(W) HON Honors Project: English
Required during Winter Study of all seniors admitted to candidacy for honors via the specialization route.
Taught by: Gage McWeeny
Catalog detailsENGL 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: English
Required during Winter Study of all seniors admitted to candidacy for honors via the thesis route.
Taught by: Gage McWeeny
Catalog detailsENGL 34(W) SEM The Name is Bond, James Bond: Ian Fleming's Creation, Entertainment, and the Legacies of Empires
In course, we will learn about the fun, as well as the unexpected moments of gravity, in the practice of film blogging about one of the globe's most enduring popularproducts. Brimming with unabashed expressions of misogyny, racism and a nostalgia for colonialist empire, much of the cinematic and literary world of Ian Fleming's James Bond continues to resist rehabilitation. Without minimizing the unsavory aspects of Bond, we will examine the shifts of emphasis in Fleming's fiction, from the Cold War narratives of Soviet Russia as Bond's enemy to the presciently anti-neoliberal novels about the capitalist conglomerate of SPECTRE as his ultimate adversary. How is SPECTRE portrayed in the novels and the films, and to what extent do the movie adaptations attempt to correct the ideologically problematic aspects of the novels, which even Fleming himself acknowledged? What is the significance of Fleming's training and service in British naval intelligence during the second World War, and how did his peripheral involvement in the project of decoding of the Nazi 'Enigma' code serve as the inspiration for his fiction? Why do fascist politics invariably lurk behind the masks of all the Bond villains, even those who are Communists or ideologues of the free market? By immersing ourselves in the practice of informal blogging outside of the compositional strictures of mainstream film criticism, we will pay particularly close attention to the shifting representations of gender and Englishness in the Bond novels and films, as well as the therapeutic value of imagining a sophisticated evil that may ultimately be defeated.
Taught by: Alexandar Mihailovic
Catalog detailsENGL 35(W) SEM Alternative Literatures
Publishing is a mature industry dominated by a few incumbent forms, perhaps the most enduring of which is the book. This codification affords powerful reach and dazzling variations on theme,but, as with all dominant forms, demands conformity, which excludes divergent experiences and modes of expression. Traditionally, the gaps left by mainstream publishing have been filled by experimental texts printed in shorter runs within smaller, alternative communities, many of which constitute forms and traditions in and of themselves. Zines, chapbooks, pamphlets, broadsides, and more will be xeroxed, risographed, and printed-on-demand by and for immigrants, punks, the disabled, political dissidents, and other outsiders. In this explosion of multiplicity, we see text paired with image, innovations in layout and book binding, and radical expressions of the book as a site of casual play, among other surprises. Alternatives Literatures will survey the many forms a literary text might take, giving students a conceptual and practical basis for the creation and publication of their own alternative literatures, which will be exhibited and circulated as a capstone to the course. This structure, commonly known as a craft course, mixes two primary modalities, the literature seminar and the creative writing workshop, but will also borrow elements from the art studio and lecture.
Taught by: Nick Greer
Catalog detailsENGL 99(W) IND Independent Study: English
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Gage McWeeny
Catalog detailsENVI 14(W) SEM Environmental Law and Policy
This course covers the major environmental protection areas, and current issues, such as air and water pollution, climate change, regulation of toxic wastes, cleanup of contaminated sites, environmental justice, andecosystem and endangered species protections. It also introduces students to the American legal system by covering a range of environmental legal actions, including both common law lawsuits by private persons, and governmental regulation and enforcement under the major environmental statutes. Students will be exposed to careers in environmental law and policy and will also develop legal reasoning, argumentation, and writing skills.
Taught by: Korinna Garfield
Catalog detailsENVI 24(W) SEM Farming New England: A Deep Dive Into the Regional Food System
Farmers feed us all. In this experiential course, students will learn how. New England produces about 10 percent of its own food: 90 percent of the food is imported fromoutside the region. Farming in the region has been in decline for decades and farms face a range of challenges, from climate change induced flood & drought, to an economic system that disadvantages family farms, to debt, social isolation, and physical maladies. With more support, climate resilient agriculture, and a new generation of trained farmers, New England's farms can succeed and continue to contribute to the regional food system. This can only happen with policies that promote family farms and local agriculture, and of course, a new generation of farmers. This class examines the complexities of the regional food system from multiple perspectives: farmers, farming, agronomy, climate change, food insecurity, food systems planning, agricultural policy, agricultural economics and markets, culture, race and class, and land use planning. Five overarching questions shape the class: What are the challenges and opportunities to farming in New England? How can New England's agriculture succeed and expand? How is climate resilient farming part of the solution? What will it take for the region to produce more of its own food and address regional food insecurity? How can farming be more socially just and racially equitable? Students will learn through immersion in the agricultural world for the month. Class meets 2-3 days a week for farmwork on a variety of farms (cow and goat dairies), dairy processing operations, diversified farms, vegetable & greenhouse, and the Food Bank), Students will also meet with policy and technical experts: agronomists, farmland planners, and agricultural/food system policymakers. Students will learn through hands-on work (yes, you will get dirty!), conversation with farmers and others in the agricultural field, class reading, group discussion, reflection, and writing. The class includes 1-2 overnight trips during the week in the New England region. Students are encouraged to reflect on their daily class experiences and will keep a journal after each class meeting. Interested students should 1) attend the Info Session on Oct 28, 6:30pm, in the Environmental Center living room and 2) send an email explaining their interest in taking the class and any relevant or related experience they have to Professor Sarah Gardner @ [email protected]
Taught by: Sarah Gardner
Catalog detailsENVI 31(W) HON Senior Research and Thesis: Environmental Studies
To be taken by students registered for Environmental Studies 493-494.
Taught by: Sarah Jacobson
Catalog detailsENVI 99(W) IND Independent Study: Environmental Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Sarah Jacobson
Catalog detailsGBST 30(W) HON Sr Proj: Global Studies
To be taken by candidates for honors in Global Studies.
Taught by: Magnús Bernhardsson
Catalog detailsGBST 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Global Studies
Global Studies senior thesis.
Taught by: Magnús Bernhardsson
Catalog detailsGBST 44(W) TVL Global Challenges, Global Research
As part of the Global Scholars Program, this travel course is only to those students admitted to the Global Scholars Program. Each January, students who successfully completed GBST 151 inthe Fall will travel with their instructor(s) to a major city around the world. After a short introduction to some of relevant international and political institutions, students will explore specific global questions working with local researchers and centers, based on their academic interests and goals. They will engage with this research to think new concepts and generate innovative questions as they enter and examine the complexities of the always evolving and interconnected world. They will be encouraged to tackle urgent issues and rethink conventional paradigms and thus develop multi-faceted awareness through the task of analyzing and appreciating diverse perspectives and experiences.
Taught by: Jennifer French
Catalog detailsGBST 99(W) IND Indep. Study: Global Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Magnús Bernhardsson
Catalog detailsGEOS 14(W) STU Drawing Science Studio Lab
Drawing Science Studio Lab explores the expansive intersection of art and science. Students will learn how to draw from direct observation of fossils, bones, plants, and taxidermy. This course isflexibly designed for every experience level. At least 75% of our class time is spent observing and drawing. Sketchbooks act as research sites. Graphite, colored pencils, and watercolors are our primary mediums. Most drawing will be done in-class with some additional at-home drawing assignments. The remaining class time is spent on research-driven field trips to WCMA, The Clark, and investigative walking assignments. We will have one visiting guest artist to add in our understanding of observation and depiction of the natural world. This course will explore: - how can observation, drawing, and related art games make us better visual thinkers and learners? - how do we see our environments? - how to color and pattern shape our perspectives (and then how do we draw that)? - how and where do scientific processes overlap with creative processes? - how does observation assist in field and lab work? - where does data-driven research benefit from play and imagination?
Taught by: Lauren Rachel Levato Coyne
Catalog detailsGEOS 16(W) TVL Fire and Ice
The famously otherworldly landscapes of Iceland are a result of the combined forces of widespread volcanism and glaciation. Iceland is a rare subaerial portion of a mid-ocean ridge, where tectonicplates are pulling apart, so the volcanism and tectonic forces we can observe there are fairly unique. Owing to its high northern latitude, the island was completely glaciated (until ~13,000 years ago) and it still retains several ice caps. The landscape is sculpted by vast ridges and mountains formed from subglacial eruptions and is carpeted by post-glacial lavas at low elevations and active glaciers at high elevations. In the Land of Fire and Ice there is also vigorous geothermal activity from geysers to hot springs, which is ubiquitously used for electricity and hot water. This proposed travel course will explore the driving volcanic and glacial processes that formed the landscapes and continue to shape Icelandic culture. What are the characteristics of rift settings? How do subglacial eruptions differ from subaerial ones? What hazards are associated with volcano-ice interactions? Why do we find ice caps with outlet glaciers in these particular parts of Iceland? What can icebergs tell us about glacial ice? How does the North Atlantic climate shape the landscape and the winter season in Iceland? And how have Icelanders learned to coexist with and take advantage of these immutable and elemental forces of nature? In addition to the week of field study in Iceland, the class would include a week and a half of lectures, so that students are adequately prepared with a volcanology and glaciology background to fully appreciate the trip. Students would complete a two-part project in which they prepare a presentation on a topic associated with one of the field trip sites to be delivered during the trip, and then follow the trip up with a report expanding on their experience and their review of the related scientific literature.
Taught by: Alice Bradley, Mike Hudak
Catalog detailsGEOS 17(W) LEC Hurricanes / Typhoons and Global Warming
Since 1990, forty-seven tropical depressions of hurricane intensity have developed on average each year mainly in the northern hemisphere. Among them, a half-dozen become major storms in the North AtlanticOcean, another 10 are generated in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and as many as 22 take hold over the western Pacific Ocean (where they are called typhoons). Whereas the numbers have remained relatively static, evidence suggests that storm intensity is on the rise. Most such storms dissipate in the open oceans, but elsewhere coastal impact affects the physical geography of rocky shores, beaches, and river deltas, as well as the infrastructure associated with human habitation and commerce. During the Pliocene warm period between 4.5 to 3.0 million years ago, the average global temperature was both higher than today and global sea level stood above today's datum. These conditions may have contributed to permanent El Niño conditions across the Pacific Ocean having a spill-over effect on the Atlantic Ocean. With few exceptions since 2015, each succeeding year through 2023 has recorded an increase in the average global temperature. Air temperature affects sea-surface temperature, which is the key factor triggering hurricanes / typhoons on a seasonal basis today. This course looks at the physical evidence for storm deposits of exceptional size from the Pliocene warm period and the last inter-glacial epoch roughly 125,000 years ago. In the northern hemisphere, such deposits are well studied along the shores of Mexico's Gulf of California as well as islands such as the Azores in the North Atlantic. The physical dynamics of recent hurricanes are reviewed for further insight on where and how coastal impact is most expected.
Taught by: Markes E Johnson
Catalog detailsGEOS 22(W) RSC Geosciences Research
Students will spend part of Winter Study doing fieldwork collecting data. Back at Williams, they will analyze the data. Each student will have responsibility for a subset of the data,and the individual sub-projects will contribute to the overall research.
Taught by: Rónadh Cox
Catalog detailsGEOS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Geosciences
To be taken by students registered for Geosciences 493-494.
Taught by: Paul Karabinos
Catalog detailsGEOS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Geosciences
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Paul Karabinos
Catalog detailsGERM 30(W) HON Honors Project: German
To be taken by honors candidates following other than the normal thesis route.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsGERM 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: German
To be taken by students registered for German 493-494.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsGERM 88(W) LAB German Sustaining Program
Students registered for GERM 101-102 are required to attend and pass the German Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program¿check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsGERM 99(W) IND Independent Study: German
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsHIST 21(W) SEM Domestic Terrorism: From the Klan, through the Oklahoma City Bombing, to January 6
Domestic Terrorism: From the Klan, through the Oklahoma City Bombing, to January 6 On January 6, 2021, we witnessed numerous acts of domestic terrorism - the effort to advance politicaland ideological ends through violent means. Some of these acts were carried out by organized groups engaged in seditious conspiracies. Others were committed by fellow travelers and hangers-on acting without much of a plan or foresight. But as unprecedented as was the assault on the US Capitol and the disruption of the peaceful transfer of power between presidential administrations, domestic terrorism has deep roots in the United States. One hundred and fifty years ago, during Reconstruction, the defenders of white supremacy organized themselves into the Ku Klux Klan and other groups to prevent those who had recently been enslaved from exercising political and economic power. The Department of Justice was established in response to this rampage of violent crime. The twentieth century saw many different episodes of domestic terrorism, with violence deployed to oppose everything from the war in Southeast Asia, the effort to register Black voters and integrate public accommodations, to the availability of abortions, as well as to a more generalized opposition to the federal government. In this class we will focus on some of these historical antecedents and then on the crimes of January 6 and their investigation and prosecution. The readings will include government and press reports as well as court documents relating to the cases on which we will focus, and The Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. We plan to visit Washington, D.C., to meet with one or more federal judges and advocates involved in the January 6 prosecutions. If schedules permit, we would also attend court proceedings. Students will be expected to write one 4-5 page paper (or another work of comparable effort) on a topic of their choosing.
Taught by: Howard M Shapiro, Amy Jeffress
Catalog detailsHIST 23(W) LEC Maps: Past, Present & Future
This course will examine how antique maps provide a frame for understanding history, art and science, as well as lessons for modern-day map-making. We will start by studying antique mapsand mapmakers from various cultures over the past five hundred years. Students will learn about the multitude of online resources available for studying maps, and, in their first project, will select and evaluate an antique map, focusing on its cartographic, historic, artistic and design-related aspects. We will then explore modern-day map-making, including the tools, companies and people currently making them. The class will have several guest speakers about both historic and modern-day maps. In the second project, students will select and evaluate a modern-day map about a topic of their choosing, such as politics (e.g. gerrymandering, racial covenants, redlining), climate change, site selection, sports or recreation.
Taught by: Tom Paper
Catalog detailsHIST 29(W) LEC Gallery to Garment: Exploring Costume History in Museums & Beyond
Welcome to "Gallery to Garment". This course offers a unique journey through the evolution of fashion, spanning from ancient times to the 21st century. Our exploration begins in the classroom,where we'll delve into the social, cultural, and economic influences that have shaped costume design throughout history. We'll focus on different eras, examining the materials, styles, and trends that defined it. To bring our studies to life, the course includes curated trips to various museums in Williamstown, New York, and Boston. Here, you'll witness firsthand the textures, colors, and craftsmanship of historical garments, ranging from the elaborate gowns of European courts to the intricate traditional wear of ancient civilizations. These excursions will not only enhance your understanding of the eras studied in class but also provide a tangible connection to the past. By the end of the course, you'll have gained a comprehensive understanding of the development of fashion and its role in history. You'll leave with an appreciation of how costume history is a vivid tapestry woven from the threads of time, culture, and creativity. Note: Travel outside of Williamstown is required for this course.
Taught by: Nicola MacEwen
Catalog detailsHIST 30(W) IND Workshop in Independent Research
This course is designed for junior majors and sophomores who are considering pursuing a senior thesis in History. It can either provide students greater experience in independent research or allowfor an in-depth exploration of a specific topic under consideration for the thesis. The course will focus on key methods of historical research, such as defining a topic, familiarizing oneself with historiography, and finding and using primary sources. Students may pursue any topic, and assignments may be modified to fit students' particular needs and interests. The majority of class time will consist of individual meetings with the professor as well as consultations with librarians and other experts in your field. Students are expected to devote considerable time outside of class to independent research. The final assignment will be a 10-page paper, which can either be a detailed prospectus for a senior thesis or a research paper.
Taught by: Jessica Chapman
Catalog detailsHIST 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: History
To be taken by all senior honors students who are registered for HIST 493 (Fall) and HIST 494 (Spring), HIST 31 allows thesis writers to complete their research and preparea draft chapter, due at the end of Winter Study.
Taught by: Jessica Chapman
Catalog detailsHIST 99(W) IND Independent Study: History
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Jessica Chapman
Catalog detailsINTR 99(W) IND Indep Study: Interdisciplinary
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsJAPN 11(W) SEM Introduction to Sake: The Art and Science of Japanese Rice Wine
The popularity of sake, a traditional Japanese alcohol made from rice, has been rapidly growing worldwide, accompanied by recent advancements in its quality. For instance, an increasing number of restaurantsin major cities -- not only Japanese establishments but also those serving other cuisines such as Chinese, French, and Italian -- now offer sake. This trend is partly due to sake's versatility in complementing a wide array of foods, including Western food like cheese, with the same efficacy as wine. However, sake's versatility in flavor also underscores a challenge associated with sake: many people are unfamiliar with the various flavor profiles of different types of sake or which dishes pair well with it. This course addresses these inquiries by providing insights from a sake sommelier (i.e., the course instructor) while covering topics such as the fundamentals of alcohol, sake production methods, the history of sake, flavor profiles of sake, and techniques for enjoying sake (e.g., storage methods, serving temperatures, appropriate vessels for different types of sake, and food pairings). Additionally, students will have the opportunity to make amazake, a non-alcoholic beverage derived from sake production byproducts, as well as Japanese dishes incorporating sake (with the alcohol evaporated during cooking).
Taught by: Masashi Harada
Catalog detailsJAPN 25(W) TVL Exploring Kyoto Culture: Exploring 1200 years of Kyoto's Cultural History
Kyoto, the former imperial capital of Japan has 1200 years of history. It is referred to as Japan's cultural treasure house and thrives on its ancient heritage in architecture, gardens,religion, performing and culinary arts and craftsmanship. Yet Kyoto's appearances can be deceiving. You will find a monumental temple designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site under the shadow of ultramodern high-rising buildings. There is an enigmatic quality to the city with this juxtaposition of old and new. This unresolved tension between modernization and tradition is Kyoto's fascination. The purpose of this travel course is to explore the cultural history of Kyoto and how it is perpetuated and transformed in a modern era. Students will visit various sites and artists/artisans in Kyoto. Through these experiences, they will arrive at their own conclusion about what it means to sustain tradition while pursuing modernization and innovation. The first week of the course will be conducted on campus. Students conduct research in order to to acquire additional in-depth knowledge on one selected area of Kyoto's art/craftmanship. For the second and third week, the class will travel to Kyoto. We will first explore the city of Kyoto to develop an idea of how its cultural history progressed from courtly culture in the Heian period, to samurai tradition in the Medieval periods, and aspects of religious ceremonies, Noh Theater and tea ceremonies. We will also visit four to five artisan/artist studios, including hands on experiences at some studios. Students are expected to participate in all the scheduled activities, keep a daily journal, and participate in daily reflections. At the end of the Kyoto visit, students will summarize their reflections and present their views on Japanese traditional and modern art/craft/performance to the local community and to the Kyoto artists/artisans at a public forum. The class will return to campus towards the end of the third week.
Taught by: Shinko Kagaya
Catalog detailsJAPN 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Japanese
To be taken by all students who are candidates for honors in Japanese.
Taught by: Man He
Catalog detailsJAPN 88(W) LAB Japanese Sustaining Program
Students registered for JAPN 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Japanese Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program¿check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Man He
Catalog detailsJAPN 99(W) IND Independent Study: Japanese
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Man He
Catalog detailsJLST 99(W) IND Independent Study: Legal Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Cheryl Shanks
Catalog detailsJWST 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Jewish Studies
Jewish Studies senior thesis.
Taught by: Edan Dekel
Catalog detailsJWST 99(W) IND Independent Study: Jewish Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Edan Dekel
Catalog detailsLATS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Latina/o Studies
Students must register for this course to complete an honors project begun in the fall or begin one to be finished in the spring.
Taught by: Nelly Rosario
Catalog detailsLATS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Latina/o Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Nelly Rosario
Catalog detailsLEAD 12(W) SEM Principles and Practice of Effective Leadership
This course will examine issues related to effective leadership in a variety of contexts, primarily through the experience of guest lecturers. We will begin by identifying key principles of leadershipwith reference to several great leaders in history, moving on to consider contemporary topics such as personal responsibility, self-awareness development and service orientation. We will investigate the essential role that good communications skills play in exercising leadership. The majority of class sessions will feature distinguished guest speakers, several of whom are Williams alumni, who have held leadership roles in government, business, non-profit organizations, and healthcare. Probing our guests' approaches to organizational leadership is the primary goal of this Winter Study. After each lecture, we will spend time in the next class sharing impressions, surprises and lessons learned. At the end of the course students will be required to present for10-15 minutes. They will be expected to integrate lessons learned from others into their own nascent story of leadership in their own lives. In that sense this course will operate on three levels -- the intellectual, the personal and the practical. Fundamental to this exploration will be a simple, action-oriented question: now that you know more, how can you do more?
Taught by: Paul Burke, Christine Burke
Catalog detailsLEAD 15(W) LEC Leadership and The Good Life: Your First Decade After Williams
There is nothing quite like life in the Purple Valley, but many adventures await after Williams. Pondering what The Good Life might look like for you after graduation? Intrigued byexploring different paths and leadership styles across law, nonprofit, government, and business? Interested in developing and honing leadership, collaboration, prioritization, and strategic decision making skills that can benefit both your personal and professional life? Wondering how themes like curiosity, happiness, and creativity connect to designing a life as well as to leadership? We will have engaging conversations addressing these topics and many more. We will also be joined by guest speakers who have led interesting lives and become leaders in their fields since graduating from college. You will write five one-page papers over the course of winter study exploring ideas and topics discussed in class and in our readings. You will also write a short final paper. Outside of class, we will read a range of articles and insightful pieces as well as watch film clips and listen to podcasts that will inform our class discussions and help build valuable leadership skills for navigating life after Williams.
Taught by: Lauren Anstey
Catalog detailsLEAD 16(W) SEM Effective Oral Persuasion
Clear and persuasive public speaking, whether before a small group or a much larger audience, is essential to implement effective leadership and career development. This course is designed to enhancea student's ability to develop a position on an issue and to advance and defend that position orally. During each class, students will make presentations ranging from 2-15 minutes and receive immediate feedback from the Instructors as well as class members. The class uses various exercises such Tell us Something, Teach us Something, Sell us Something, or Convince us of Something to learn and practice making oral presentations. The Course includes a segment of resume review and practice interviews for professional programs, internships, or full-time jobs. Outside professionals will be invited to conduct some of the practice interviews. The capstone event has each student select an issue of their choice and to advance and defend that position orally. Students are required to provide resource materials that they used to formulate their position prior to their final presentation. The course will normally meet for three sessions per week (M, T and Th) from 1:00 until 3:45 pm. Instructors: David Olson '71 and Stephen Brown '71 are experienced trial lawyers handling many types of civil cases in state and federal courts before judges and juries. Robert Schwed '71 is a corporate lawyer who specialized in private equity placements, venture capital transactions, and business between investor groups drawn from domestic and international clients. The Instructors have offered this Course jointly for 3 consecutive years. While no paper is required, Students will prepare and make one or more oral presentations during each session of the course ranging from 2-15 minutes each. The students will also listen to and critique each other's presentations throughout the course. Frequent and thoughtful class participation is expected from each student.
Taught by: David Olson, Stephen Brown, Robert Alexander Schwed
Catalog detailsLEAD 17(W) SEM Mindful Leadership: what do we need now?
Do you have what should be a fulfilling life and yet you're not satisfied? If so, this is an opportunity to ask: "why do I do what I do," "whatdo I really want," and "what must I believe to live and lead differently?" This is the course that I wish I had taken while I was at Williams. In it, you will be invited to deepen into a more embodied way of knowing yourself, leading teams, and working in the professional world. You will harness your breath to further cultivate a grounded, impactful presence. You will transmute challenging emotions and stories into skillful communication and boundaries. You will practice integrity. You will give and receive compassion. You will become more aware of individual and team flow triggers. You will venture off-campus to explore the Clark and MASS MoCA-noticing how your intuition merges with others to guide collective movement and inquiry. Together, we will co-create a powerful, safe container in which to surrender, play, and create. You will develop deep, trust-based relationships. You will tune your nervous system. You will also be challenged-so as to become more skillful in navigating intensity. You will facilitate an experience for the class, then for a group or team. Then, you will co-lead a session for the Williams community. We will continue to ask: "what does our group need now" and adapt accordingly. If you're into expanding your capacity to show up for life-and leading others-this is an opportunity to practice.
Taught by: Jamie Hunt
Catalog detailsLEAD 18(W) LEC Wilderness Emergency Medicine - Wilderness First Responder Certification
This course covers the curriculum and training for the nationally recognized Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification. The course meets for 9 consecutive days - January 22-30th - from ~9am-5pm (includingweekends) for a total of 72-80 hours of instruction. Attendance at all sessions is required (along with passing written and practical exams) to receive credit/certification. Upon successful completion, students will receive WFR certification from SOLO (soloschools.com), a national leader in wilderness medicine. WFR certification is "the industry standard for professional guides and outdoor leaders; it is also recommended for all recreationalists engaged in high-risk activities or remote multi-day trips where communication and outside assistance is questionable. WFR graduates often care for patients in remote locations, in challenging weather, and with limited equipment." (WMEC, 2024) Topics covered include: patient assessment, traumatic problems, environmental medicine, and medical problems.
Taught by: Ben Oliver
Catalog detailsLEAD 22(W) STU Ski Patrol - Outdoor Emergency Response
The course will teach and develop the technical proficiency and leadership skills required to effectively and efficiently administer emergency medical care in outdoor environments. Successful completion of written and practicalexams, along with demonstrating ski/snowboard proficiency, can lead to certification as a member of the National Ski Patrol. The course is based upon implementing National Ski Patrol's Outdoor Emergency Care and Outdoor Emergency Transport curricula in a hands-on, "on-hill" environment. Students will spend approximately 12 hours per week learning and practicing Ski Patrol medical care and rescue techniques. Specifically, students will develop skills to recognize and provide emergency care for situations they learned about in prior first responder training (Outdoor Emergency Care, Wilderness First Responder, or Emergency Medical Technician): - Wounds and Burns - Environmental Emergencies (e.g., frostbite, hypothermia, heat exhaustion) - Musculoskeletal Trauma (e.g., breaks, strains, sprains, etc.) - Shock, Respiratory Emergencies, Poisoning, Substance abuse emergencies - Medical emergencies (e.g., heart attack, stroke, seizures, insulin shock, etc.) In the outdoor environment, students will practice the use of various types of splints, spinal motion restriction, bandaging, rescue/transport equipment, methods of extrication, use of oxygen, organization/prioritization of rescue tasks, and how to deal with unusual emergencies such as mass casualty incidents. Emphasis will be placed on the Leadership Skills required to handle complex and stressful emergency situations. Class meetings: ~8 hours/week at Jiminy Peak and ~4 hours/week on campus. Exact timing (morning vs. afternoon; 4 vs. 6 hours per meeting; etc.) will be determined based on student and instructor availability. Class attendance is mandatory. ~8 hours/week for homework/practice outside of class will be required. The course includes certification in CPR.
Taught by: Thomas Paul Feist
Catalog detailsLEAD 99(W) IND Independent Study: Leadership Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Mason Williams
Catalog detailsMATH 100(W) SEM Intensive: Mathematics Immersion
The Mathematics Immersion course will cover topics appropriate to the interest and level of preparation of the students enrolled in the class. Each student will be assigned to one ofthe following groups: Introductory Calculus (equivalent to Math 130), Intermediate Calculus (equivalent to Math 140), Multivariable Calculus (equivalent to Math 150), and Discrete Mathematics (equivalent to Math 200).
Taught by: Mihai Stoiciu
Catalog detailsMATH 12(W) LEC The Mathematics of LEGO and Outreach Activities
This course is a modification of nine previous winter studies I have done on the Mathematics of LEGO bricks and outreach activities. Similar to those, we will use LEGO bricksas a motivator to talk about some good mathematics (combinatorics, algorithms, efficiency). We will partner with local elementary schools to engage students and teachers in mathematics, as well as possibly prepare articles for journals. Possible activities include submitting a Lego Ideas Challenge, to try and create a set that Lego will then market and sell, or do a speed build challenge (college teams vs elementary school teams perhaps).
Taught by: Steven Miller
Catalog detailsMATH 14(W) LEC Flow Yoga
This class will teach the practice of yoga based on a fusion of Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Iyengar methodologies. This course is open to all levels from those who have neverdone a pose to those who have practicing yoga for years. The students will learn how to connect movement to breath in a sequence of vigorous yoga poses, or asanas. The flow classes will introduce yoga sequences in an alignment- based curriculum appropriate to each student's experience. In addition to the physical work out of practicing yoga, there will be short discussions on the assigned reading of handouts that explore various topics pertinent to yoga, such as an introduction to yogic philosophy, the historical background of yoga, and a basic of knowledge of Sanskrit. The rudiments of Meditation will begin and end every session. Attendance to every class is a requirement. We will meet 3 times per week for 2 hours each time. The students will be expected to practice yoga daily on their own after having memorized certain basic yoga sequences. Each student will keep a journal where they will note the highlight of that day's class, whether it be a new asana or a sutra or whatever caught their attention. Students will be evaluated on their class participation, their journal and a short essay on a topic of their choice.
Taught by: Sylvia Logan
Catalog detailsMATH 16(W) SEM Translating Poetry for Kids
There's a long tradition of translating English poetry--including nursery rhymes--into Russian. Our goal will be to go the other way, translating some famous Russian poems for children into English. Proficiency(but not fluency!) in Russian is required, as is an interest in poetry and translation.
Taught by: Leo Goldmakher
Catalog detailsMATH 21(W) LEC Up-cycling of Waste Cotton into Bioplastics
The pressing concerns of plastic pollution have spurred considerable interest in biomass-based products sourced from sustainable and renewable origins, offering attributes such as recyclability, compostability, or biodegradability. Cotton, being thepurest form of cellulose found in nature, presents a promising avenue for exploration. Annually, the cotton industry generates substantial quantities of gin waste and low-quality cotton fibers, typically unsuitable for fabric production. The course will provide students with an overview of developing bioplastic materials (i.e., films and aerogels), especially from waste cotton, to effectively curtail the carbon footprint and mitigate the detrimental impacts of synthetic plastics. We will begin by addressing critical issues surrounding plastic pollution before delving into interesting topics such as bioplastics; cotton fibers (journey from field to fabric); chemical insight into cellulose; transforming waste cotton into bioplastics through dissolution; and functionalization, characterization, and applications of bioplastics. Additionally, a brief overview of water-soluble bioplastics and their benefits and applications will be provided. Students will demonstrate their understanding through class discussions and will either deliver a 10-minute class presentation and submit a 5-page report, exploring and analyzing the ideas and topics covered during the lectures.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsMATH 22(W) SEM Stoppard and Go: Interpretation and Scenework for Three of Tom Stoppard's Plays
Tom Stoppard has been cited as one of the greatest living playwrights, with numerous prestigious awards, frequent international productions of his extensive oeuvre, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth. "Stoppardian"has even become a term describing works that use wit and comedy while exploring philosophical concepts, succinctly expressing his interdisciplinary appeal. We will investigate three of Stoppard's most prominent plays: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1967); Travesties (1975); and Arcadia (1993). The course will give students the chance to engage with the texts through discussion, collaborative scenework, and informal performances. Each play invites us to consider the past and the present anew through humor and unexpected juxtapositions: R&G reframes Shakespeare's Hamlet through formerly minor characters; Travesties portrays the convergence in 1917 Zurich of Dada founder, Tristan Tzara, author James Joyce, and the communist revolutionary, Lenin; Arcadia explores the thorniness of attribution and biography in literature, scholarship and science. Intertwining themes of history, art, literature, politics, aesthetics, mathematics, and philosophy, these plays will amuse and challenge students of all academic backgrounds and will offer a rich launchpad for our discussion and workshop-focused class sessions. Brief supplementary readings will help ground students in the historic and literary setting of each play, while film viewings, in-class scene work, and informal performances will bring the language to life. No theatrical experience necessary, but workshopping and presenting scenes with and to classmates is a required component of this course.
Taught by: Amanda Goldmakher
Catalog detailsMATH 30(W) HON Senior Project: Mathematics
To be taken by candidates for honors in Mathematics other than by thesis route.
Taught by: Cesar Silva
Catalog detailsMATH 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Mathematics
To be taken by students registered for Mathematics 493-494.
Taught by: Cesar Silva
Catalog detailsMATH 40(W) SEM Intensive: Mathematics Immersion
The Mathematics Immersion course will cover topics appropriate to the interest and level of preparation of the students enrolled in the class. Each student will be assigned to one ofthe following groups: Introductory Calculus (equivalent to Math 130), Intermediate Calculus (equivalent to Math 140), Multivariable Calculus (equivalent to Math 150), and Discrete Mathematics (equivalent to Math 200).
Taught by: Mihai Stoiciu
Catalog detailsMATH 49(W) SEM Life with Dogs
Dogs take on a multitude of important roles in society -- loyal companions, family members, therapy and support help, security, and even military or law enforcement team members. This January,we will study dogs: training, behavior, communication, health issues, impact on society, and much more. The course will include some dog training, volunteering at animal shelters and kennels, guest speakers from animal professionals, and more. We will explore the four quadrants of operant conditioning used in dog training (positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment) and discuss examples of how each are used in practice, as well as how the quadrants inform dog training theory and approaches. Each student will write a 10-page research paper on some topics of their choosing, relating to dogs.
Taught by: Allison Pacelli, Kayla Frances Servin
Catalog detailsMATH 99(W) IND Independent Study: Mathematics
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Cesar Silva
Catalog detailsMUS 11(W) STU I/O Festival of New Music
I/O Fest 2025 is a month-long immersion in adventurous music making. Centered around the Williams College Department of Music's annual festival of contemporary music, the course is an opportunity formusicians to learn and perform new music and to explore new performance practices. Open to instrumentalists, singers, conductors, composers, and sound artists, the first stage of the course involves daily rehearsal leading to four days of concerts at the '62 Center, the Clark, and WCMA. The post-festival phase of the course is focused on group creative projects, discussions, and hands-on workshops related to the social, musical, and cultural ideas explored during the festival. Throughout, there will be opportunities to create, compose, experiment, engage with the community through participatory musical programs, and collaborate with visiting guest composers and performers.
Taught by: Matthew Gold
Catalog detailsMUS 12(W) LEC The World and Wes Anderson
Among commercially successful filmmakers of the new millennium, Wes Anderson has cultivated one of the most strongly recognizable (and widely imitated) styles. Focusing on Anderson's films, this course will buildan intimate knowledge of Anderson's personal style while also exploring broader topics like filmmaking techniques and narrative structures. It will also use these films as a jumping-off point for discussions about the broad network of influences and outside references found therein, including ancient and contemporary art, interior design, film history, music history, political history, celebrity, philosophy, typography, and the environment. Importantly, the course will also ask questions about representation and identity in Anderson's work. Three weekly class meetings will consist of lecture, discussion, group viewing sessions, and student presentations. Outside of the classroom, students will be expected to read articles, watch videos, and complete a creative project and a final essay or creative project.
Taught by: Zachary Wadsworth
Catalog detailsMUS 16(W) LEC Zimbabwean Music Experience
This course focuses on teaching Zimbabwean music performance. Besides introducing a selection of basic songs on mbira, marimba, and voice, the course explores the orchestration of such music on otherinstruments. To utilize some participants' previous experience' the course will incorporate brass, woodwinds, strings, and additional percussion. The course content will trace both continuity and change in music from traditional song styles into African popular music. Besides the instrumental practice of the class, we will watch on YouTube and other videos the collaborative nature of this music. The class will end with an end-of-winter Study performance by the participants.
Taught by: Tendai Muparutsa
Catalog detailsMUS 19(W) STU Williams Opera Workshop
The Williams Opera Workshop winter study course will prepare and present two fully staged performances of an Opera (to be decided based on the gifts of the particular singers auditioningeach year) with reduced orchestra. The goal of the course is to simulate the workings of an opera house at all levels, from artistic to administrative, and to provide students with the full experience of what goes into putting a show up in a professional environment. Admission to the course will be open to students interested in performance (singers, dancers, and instrumentalists), rehearsal accompanying, conducting, choreography, stage management, set construction/scenic art, costume design, dramaturgy, stage crew, and lighting design. No previous experience necessary for registration, though acceptance into the course and designated responsibilities will be assigned based on the needs of the production and the skills of the individual. Roles will be cast prior to January 2025 by audition (date and time tba) and orchestra will be selected and contacted separately at the discretion of the conductor. An informal interview will also be scheduled for those interested in the production side to determine areas of interest and experience. Enrollment in the course is not required for participation in the production, though if your role in the project is substantial we recommend enrollment to make the best use of your time. Evaluation for the course will be determined based upon regular attendance, effort, timely preparation of each student's assigned responsibilities throughout the term, and will culminate in the final performances in which each student involved will be expected to attend.
Taught by: Paul La Rosa, Erin Casey
Catalog detailsMUS 23(W) SEM Gaming Renaissance Europe: Music and Culture in the Illustrated World of Pentiment
This course features an experiential approach to life in 16th-century Europe through the virtual world of Obsidian's historically focused video game Pentiment. Pentiment centers on the fictional character of masterartist Andreas Maler, who works as an illustrator and scribe at the Kiersau Abbey in early-16th-century Bavaria and becomes caught up in a series of scandalous intrigues in the Bavarian Alps. The game features an original, historically informed soundtrack by the medieval and Renaissance music group Alkemie, as well as a wide range of vivid illustrations based on illuminated manuscripts and early printed books and incunables from the late medieval and Renaissance periods. Over the four weeks of winter study, students will play through the game both in and outside of class in order to explore topics in European music, art, book-making, theology, medicine, and the occult at the turn of the 16th century. Students will also listen, respond to, and research the game's soundtrack, both as an original musical work and as the product of a historically informed approach to performance and composition. Additional hands-on workshops will be held on manuscripts, calligraphy, and visual arts at Special Collections and WCMA to bring key elements of Pentiment's virtual world to life.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsMUS 24(W) LEC How to Grow a Band: Collaborative Writing and Performance with Darlingside
As a band, we love to use writing exercises to generate material and to get past our pesky inner critics. These collaborative exercises will serve as the foundation for theclass. As instructors, we will participate in group writing exercises with students. We will also discuss strategies and references we use when writing. Once we generate some material to work on together, we will move on to the secondary focus of the class: performance and arrangement for small ensembles. The class will culminate with a public performance of some of the music written over the course of the class. Depending on time and interest, we will also discuss the basics of touring, booking, management, and navigating today's music industry. Attendance at classes and the final performance will be mandatory for all participating students.
Taught by: Harris Paseltiner, Auyon Mukharji, Don Mitchell
Catalog detailsMUS 26(W) TVL Songwriting in Nashville
This course will allow students of songwriting to explore both the artistic and the practical part of today's music industry. We will travel to Nashville and dive deep into writing,co-writing, critiquing, and editing original songs. Professional songwriters from the region will be invited to offer master classes and share their experiences as well as perform for us in an intimate, relaxed setting. Possible field trips include The Country Music Hall of Fame, Gruhn Guitars, Ryman Auditorium, The Bluebird Cafe, Performing Rights Organizations (BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC), Music Row, NSAI, Recording studios and Publishing Houses, etc
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsMUS 27(W) LEC Introduction to Middle Eastern Hand Drumming
Since ancient times, percussion instruments have been at the heart of Middle Eastern musical and ritual life, providing intricate rhythmic patterns as foundation. Today, many of these drums accompany musicaltraditions across a wide Mediterranean region, from the Arab world to Greece, Turkey, Armenia, and beyond. This class offers students the opportunity to engage, in a hands-on ways, with the vibrant tradition of Middle Eastern drumming and its heritage of cross-cultural flows. In this course, we will study the fundamentals of Middle Eastern drumming on traditional percussion instruments. We will focus on exploring the doumbek (i.e. Arab tabla), riqq, and frame drum. Students who have drums are welcome to bring their own, but the instructor will provide a variety of instruments for students to use in class and at home. Each class session will highlight technique, rhythm theory, and accompaniment. We will also dedicate time to learning a composition for this drum section. Some short readings and audio and video samples will supplement our in-class drumming. Evaluation will be based on a self-recorded demonstration of core rhythmic patterns as well as a final performance.
Taught by: Rami El-Aasser
Catalog detailsMUS 28(W) TVL The Oxford Evensong Experience
The purpose of this course is to introduce Williams students to the English Evensong tradition by fully immersing them in its culture and place. Through rehearsals on campus in thefirst week and half of winter study, students will learn and rehearse all of the traditional repertoire for three Anglican services, including evensong. These students will then travel to Oxford, England, where they will join forces with the Exeter College Evensong Choir. Students will participate in rehearsals with the Exeter Choir, culminating in three traditional services in which they will sing with and alongside their Exeter peers. They will explore the history and culture of English choral singing as it relates to the present day evensong culture in Oxford and elsewhere, as well as how the art and architecture of the past has shaped this rich historical tradition. This exploration will be supplemented by day trips to neighboring areas, including Bath and London.
Taught by: Anna Lenti, Tim Pyper
Catalog detailsMUS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Music
To be taken by students registered for Music 493-494.
Taught by: Ed Gollin
Catalog detailsMUS 50(W) LEC Musicianship and Wellness
Physical and mental health are both equally important to success in music performance and other rigorous disciplines such as athletics and dance. In this course, we will examine strategies topromote general wellness, maintaining both physical and mental wellbeing, while studying and performing in the field of music at all levels. In terms of the physical challenges of musical performance, we will look at ways of coping with the stress of repetitive movements and, more importantly, we will encounter important resources such as physical therapy, deep tissue massage, yoga, and conventional medicine. In considering elements of mental health in musical practice, we will consider topics related to performance anxiety, perfectionism, and the impact of social media, both positive and negative. The course will also bring in guest speakers that have experienced performance injuries, such as tendonitis or focal dystonia, as well as toxic work cultures and other problematic work and study spaces that contribute to poor mental health. The goal of this course is to help students achieve a more centered approach to music physically, mentally, and emotionally. The class will meet twice a week for three hours. Students will be required to complete a daily journal, a music performance review, and a creative project designing a wellness program either for themselves or for a potential student.
Taught by: Dorian Dean Jackman
Catalog detailsMUS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Music
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Ed Gollin
Catalog detailsNSCI 10(W) SEM Neuroscience of Learning
Course Description: An interactive and collaborative exploration of what neuroscience research reveals about how the brain learns and what factors can be influenced to facilitate successful learning. Topics include theneuroscience of attention, emotion, understanding, memory, and executive functions. Emphasis will be on the neuroscience applications to strategies correlated to the research. There will be opportunities for students to gain insight into their own learning processes Background will be provided by interactive lecture. Students will participate in small group and full class discussions based on their reading of assigned articles. They will engage in guided research projects in areas of their own interest and share their insights in presentations. In these, they will demonstrate their understanding of the medical model to evaluate primary neuroscience research studies for validity, value, and expand this understanding into implications and strategy applications to facilitate more successful and meaningful learning for themselves and to teach others.
Taught by: Judy Willis, Paul Sullivan Willis
Catalog detailsNSCI 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Neuroscience
To be taken by students registered for Neuroscience 493-494.
Taught by: Heather Williams
Catalog detailsNSCI 99(W) IND Independent Study: Neuroscience
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Heather Williams
Catalog detailsPHIL 100(W) SEM Intensive: History of Modern Moral and Political Philosophy
This course is a survey of 17th- and 18th-century moral and political philosophy. We will consider the questions: Why obey the laws? Why submit to the government's authority? Why bemoral? What does it mean to be free? Should there be any limits on our freedom? And, to what extent is it possible to be free in a capitalist, patriarchal society? To answer these questions, we will consider the nature of human motivation and identity - whether it lies in desire, instinct, self-interest, the common good, reason, class, or social positionality. We will read Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Taught by: Justin Shaddock
Catalog detailsPHIL 12(W) STU Yoga: Meditation in Action
Students will be introduced to the 8 limbs of yoga according to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, including ethics, physical poses, and breathing meditation. Class time will be spent infun, experiential exploration of yoga poses and the physical, emotional, and mental benefits they bring. By the end of Winter Study, students should have a foundation to continue their own practice of yoga as an embodied philosophy of life. We will read excerpts from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to complement the class. Open and accessible to students of all abilities, including those with mobility restrictions.
Taught by: Anne O'Connor
Catalog detailsPHIL 15(W) LEC Automata to AI: Ancient Ethical Assumptions Implicit in Our Current Attitudes toward genAI
Why do we automatically refer to generative AI as a tool? Why does it feel natural to discuss its social impacts from a perspective of labor? Why do stories ofsentient tech prompt certain visceral reactions? While LLMs are new, our moral imaginations have had millennia of history developing robust theories about artificial beings' place in human relations. We will interrogate original texts from antiquity (as well as contemporary scholarship) which explore ethical concerns relevant to artificial entities: agency, control, sentience, language, creativity, soul, and more. Through critical reading, discussion and weekly writing, as well as guided encounters with generative AI, students will situate our current cultural conversations within the long philosophical traditions which tacitly shape them.
Taught by: Gerol Petruzella
Catalog detailsPHIL 16(W) LEC Thomas Aquinas and the Summa Theologiae
Would you ever study the thought of somebody who was nicknamed the "Dumb Ox"? And what if this same Dumb Ox, getting close to the end of his life, hadconfessed to one of his closest friends, "everything I have written seems to me like straw"? Despite what these anecdotes may seem to suggest, the thinker in question is the towering philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), arguably one of the greatest philosophers and theologians of the West. The aim of the class is to introduce students to the main aspects of his philosophical thought, with particular reference to metaphysical and anthropological themes. The course also introduces students to the Medieval method of the "quaestio" as it is practiced by Friar Thomas.
Taught by: Marco Stango
Catalog detailsPHIL 30(W) HON Senior Essay: Philosophy
Philosophy senior essay.
Taught by: Joseph Cruz
Catalog detailsPHIL 31(W) HON Senior Thesis or Essay: Philosophy
To be taken by students registered for Philosophy 491 or 493-494.
Taught by: Joseph Cruz
Catalog detailsPHIL 42(W) SEM Intensive: History of Modern Moral and Political Philosophy
This course is a survey of 17th- and 18th-century moral and political philosophy. We will consider the questions: Why obey the laws? Why submit to the government's authority? Why bemoral? What does it mean to be free? Should there be any limits on our freedom? And, to what extent is it possible to be free in a capitalist, patriarchal society? To answer these questions, we will consider the nature of human motivation and identity - whether it lies in desire, instinct, self-interest, the common good, reason, class, or social positionality. We will read Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Taught by: Justin Shaddock
Catalog detailsPHIL 99(W) IND Independent Study: Philosophy
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Joseph Cruz
Catalog detailsPHLH 16(W) LEC Addiction Studies & Diagnostics
On a December night in 1987, I went to my first AA meeting and it has stuck within and beside me for 36 years. I have (literally) traveled around theworld due to abstinence and friendships in recovery communities. The goal of this class is for students to develop a personal understanding of the basics of addiction and treatment of this brain disease. This class is designed for experiential learning. You will learn and apply the 11 diagnostic criteria of addictions to real people in recovery. I will bring in speakers that are in recovery from addiction. Students will be required to make full and complete diagnoses based on the stories told and follow up questions. Students will be required to attend on-line or in-person meetings to get familiar with the cultures and communities. In our final class, students will present group research into areas of addiction that they have found interesting and present annotated bibliographies to exhibit the research behind their work. Individually, students can present papers to me if they wish to start or extend research outside of this Winter Study class. The long-term goal of this class is to raise awareness of what addiction is and is not. At the end of the month, students can decide to enable or help a person who is impacted by addiction. They will know, first hand, that there is both help and treatment. It will allow them to be a better family member, neighbor, co-worker, or/and friend.
Taught by: K. Richard Berger
Catalog detailsPHLH 23(W) LEC Navigating Ethical Challenges in Medical School and Beyond: Practical and Philosophical Issues
This course introduces students to bioethical issues that often arise during medical school and residency, where they play a key role in the professional identity formation of clinicians, and totools for navigating and resolving them. Often these issues concern ethical questions that clinicians face throughout their medical careers, but are first encountered during clerkships and residencies where the status of physicians-in-training adds unique ethical complexity. Others directly concern training. While the course may be of greatest interest to pre-med students, it is also suitable for students who are not but who are generally curious about medical ethics and clinical ethics decision making. The course is organized into two parts, and uses a case-based approach throughout. The first part focuses on philosophical foundations and conceptual tools for analyzing ethical issues in clinical practice, as well as on the concepts of moral distress and moral injury. The second part focuses on practical tools. During this portion, students learn to use the 4-box framework for clinical ethics decision making, which is widely used in clinical ethics consultations. In addition, the class explores institutional resources for resolving clinical ethics dilemmas and conflicts, such as ethics consultation services, hospital ethics committees, and chaplaincy services; students will also participate in a conflict resolution workshop sponsored by the Center for Learning in Action. The course fee will cover the costs of a trip to Johns Hopkins. Topics and cases covered in the course will center the experience and role of medical students and residents, and are likely to include: disclosure and truth telling; medical errors and whistleblowing; professional relationships; informed consent; end-of-life decision making; conscientious refusals; responding to bigotry and prejudice; disparities, inequities, and resource allocation, and intersections of clinical ethics with public health ethics.
Taught by: Julie Pedroni
Catalog detailsPHLH 99(W) IND Independent Study: Public Health
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Susan Godlonton
Catalog detailsPHYS 10(W) LEC Light and Holography
This course will examine the art and science of holography. It will introduce modern optics at a level appropriate for a non-science major, giving the necessary theoretical background in lecturesand discussion. Demonstrations will be presented and students will make several kinds of holograms in the lab. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, we have 7 well-equipped holography darkrooms available for student use. At the beginning of WSP, the class will meet for lecture and discussion three mornings a week and for lab 2 afternoons a week. The later part of the month will be mainly open laboratory time during which students, working in small groups, will conduct an independent project in holography approved by the instructor. Attendance at lectures and laboratory is required. Lectures will be in the morning, labs will be in the afternoon. A detailed schedule will be circulated to students who sign up for this course. Students who cannot attend the required sessions will be advised to select a different course as it is not possible to achieve a passing grade without being able to attend the classes and laboratories.
Taught by: Kevin Forkey
Catalog detailsPHYS 12(W) STU Drawing as a Learnable Skill
Representational drawing is not merely a gift of birth, but a learnable skill. If you wanted to draw, but have never had the time to learn; or you enjoy drawingand wish to deepen your understanding and abilities, then this course is for you. This intensive course utilizes traditional drawing exercises to teach representational drawing. By using simple techniques and extensive exercises you will develop your ability to accurately see and realistically represent the physical world. You will learn to draw a convincing portrait, interior, and still life. This course is designed to develop your powers of observation and teach creative problem solving abilities. Students need no previous artistic experience, just the willingness and desire to learn. Students will be expected to attend and participate in all sessions. They will also be required to keep a sketchbook recording their progress and complete a final project. Evaluations will be based on participation, effort, and development.
Taught by: Stella Ehrich
Catalog detailsPHYS 22(W) RSC Research Participation
Several members of the department will have student projects available dealing with their own research or that of current senior thesis students. Approximately 35 hours per week of study andactual research participation will be expected from each student.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsPHYS 31(W) HON Senior Research: Physics
To be taken by students registered for Physics 493, 494.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsPHYS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Physics
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: David Tucker-Smith
Catalog detailsPOEC 10(W) SEM Key Trends in US Industrial Reshoring: Economics, Regulations and Capital Markets
The trends that are driving industrial reshoring in the United States cross a number of economic, regulatory, and tax policies, which are having major implications for the capital markets thatare funding this domestic industrial expansion. This course will examine each of these trends. Specific topics will include: supply chain disruptions; automation; the CHIPS Act; public and private investor relations; and specialty debt funds. In addition to the instructor, a career professional in investment banking and private equity, other experienced professionals in corporate management, state regulation, and capital markets will provide additional insights during the course.
Taught by: Bill Sprague
Catalog detailsPOEC 31(W) HON Honors Thesis: Political Economy
To be taken by students registered for Political Economy 493.
Taught by: Darel Paul
Catalog detailsPOEC 99(W) IND Independent Study: Political Economy
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Darel Paul
Catalog detailsPSCI 14(W) LEC JA SelCom: A Case Study in Selection Processes
As a member of SelCom (SELection COMmittee), you will become a cohort with current members of JAAB (the Junior Advisor Advisory Board) to select the next class of JAs. Youwill participate in every step of the JA application evaluation process -- reading written applications, conducting interviews, discussing applicants with SelCom, and deciding on the final makeup of next year's JA class. Every SelCom member will complete anti-bias training at the beginning of Winter Study; working through biases to make thoughtful evaluations is crucial to this process.This is a fantastic opportunity for students who want to take on a leadership role that requires critical thinking and collaboration. Your input will help to shape the entry system, the JA role, and the very essence of the Williams community in the coming school year. The SelCom schedule is roughly as follows (subject to change). SelCom will likely meet 4-5 days per week. Week 1: SelCom members will undergo anti-bias training and then spend the first week conducting interviews with applicants and cleaning transcripts to ensure readability. Week 2-3: The committee will discuss applications with identifying information blinded to help mitigate bias in the selection process. Week 3-4: SelCom will revisit applications with consideration given to the personal identity of each applicant. The committee will then extend offers to a select number of candidates. Members may reconvene at some point in the spring semester (after the initial round of JA offers have been accepted or rejected) to determine which applicants on the waitlist should receive offers. If you are interested in serving on SelCom during winter study, you must fill out this application form by October 29 at 11:59pm: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefDaCz1P2OhKnKBqIArAv8GPxdQXEQ_QfWAWAJigayF95prQ/viewform. JAAB will decide which applicants will serve on SelCom and inform all applicants of their application status by the end of the day on Monday, November 3. SelCom applicants who are not selected to serve on SelCom will have until November 12 (winter study registration deadline) to enroll in another winter study course.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog detailsPSCI 15(W) LEC Climate Art & Activism
"Most of us are terrified by climate change and frozen by the confusion of what we should do to address this issue. Artists transform that energy into a determined roar,urging us all to play our part in stopping climate change with what we have, no matter where we are. Ultimately, we need hope and encouragement to make change happen, and art is a beacon of light."- Dekila Chungyalpa. In recent decades we have seen an exciting number of works by contemporary artists that illuminate the climate crisis. Presented by cultural institutions around the world and published in multiple forums, these works highlight a new canon of climate change themed art that engages and inspires the public to affect change. In this Winter Study course students will be exposed to projects that examine environmental themes: indigenous history, fossil fuel destruction, environmental injustice, climate migration and more. Maya Lin's Ghost Forest, Olafur Eliasson's Ice Watch, Theo Cuthand's Extractions , LaToya Ruby Frazier's The Notion of Family, Zhao Liang's Behemoth, Chantal Bilodeau's Sila, are just a few examples of works by visual artists, filmmakers, and playwrights we will examine for their different aesthetic portrayals of climate change. We will take field trips to MASS MOCA, Williams College Museum of Art, and The Clark Institute's library to look at works up close. We will also explore the local environmental history of toxic pollution in the Hoosic River. Students will be asked to read essays, view films and work on their projects outside of class. For a final project students will write a short personal essay on their own climate story (i.e.: when they first became aware of climate change, how climate change is impacting where they are from) and translate this essay into a proposal for a future creative work. Students will also propose strategies for how their creative projects can engage the public in activism. Students from all departments are welcome.
Taught by: Eve Morgenstern
Catalog detailsPSCI 21(W) INT Fieldwork in Public Affairs and Private Non-Profits
This course is a participant-observation experience in which students work full-time for a governmental or nongovernmental (including voluntary, activist, and grassroots) organization or for a political campaign. Examples include: towngovernment offices; state or federal administrative offices (e.g., environmental agencies, housing authorities); interest groups that lobby government (e.g., ACLU, NRA); nonprofit organizations such as service providers or think tanks (e.g., Habitat for Humanity, Cato Institute); and grassroots, activist or community development organizations (e.g., Greenpeace or neighborhood associations). The instructors and members of the Political Science Department are available to help students find placements. Students can also email [email protected] for the most up-to-date information. Students should then make their own contracts with the institution or agency. The student's fieldwork mentor should send a confirmation letter to the instructor verifying the placement and describing the nature of the work to be performed. Interested students should reach out to Paula Consolini at [email protected] by October 30th. A group meeting of all students will occur before winter study to prepare and after to discuss the experience. During winter study, students are responsible for keeping a journal of their experiences and observations. Additionally, students write final papers summarizing and reflecting upon the experience in light of assigned readings. Every year, course instructors arrange for some distinct sections of this course to provide specialized fieldwork opportunities in the area for small groups of students.
Taught by: Galen E Jackson, Paula Consolini
Catalog detailsPSCI 22(W) STU LIFT: Learning Intervention for Teens
This mentorship-based course pairs Williams students with teenagers involved in the Berkshire County juvenile justice system, usually due to truancy. LIFT is an official Commonwealth of Massachusetts probation diversion program.Sponsored by Pittsfield Chief of Police Mike Wynn '93 and Professor Cheryl Shanks, the course is entirely run by Williams students who have previously served as mentors. Williams students provide positive mentorship, helping the teens envision, construct, and present an independent, educational project of the teen's choosing. Past projects have ranged from 3D printing Mike Tyson's glove to how to cook the perfect steak to utilizing the music recording studio to assessing the performance of NBA players before and after injury. The project and other course activities aim to cultivate initiative, creativity, focus, and skills in goal-setting, research, and communication, to show teens that school can empower them and not just be another form of incarceration. The course culminates with a project presentation in which each mentor/mentee pair formally presents their work to an audience that includes professionals in the juvenile court system, state elected officials, police chiefs, district attorneys, the teens' peers and families, faculty, and community members. Williams students are expected to attend training, meet with their teens three times a week, and co-facilitate a final presentation. Because LIFT is an after-school program, this course meets Tuesday through Thursday from 3:30-5:30 pm. Williams students will additionally meet on Mondays from 4:00 to 5:00 pm in a "mentors-only" meeting to report their progress and share their experiences. Absences cannot be accommodated; the teens cannot be let down. Williams students will undergo training as well as a criminal background check. To apply, please fill out the linked Google Form and register on PeopleSoft. The student leaders, Kiara Muñoz Diaz and Sophia Nogueira,will select the applicants, with some advice from the deans' office and course sponsors. (All must be Covid-vaccinated and agree to a background check to participate. These are mandated by the state and require Social Security Numbers -- lack of a SSN may, unfortunately, prevent you from participating in the program.) Applications are due on October 21st at 11:59 pm. Selected mentors will be notified via email by November 4th. Please reach out to Kiara Muñoz Diaz (km32) or Sophia Nogueira (snn2) with any questions or concerns! Link to the application: https://forms.gle/x9ngWXQ71kywAj28A
Taught by: Cheryl Shanks, Paula Consolini
Catalog detailsPSCI 23(W) LEC The Practice of Politics
Just as planning and execution in sports or combat is most fruitfully analyzed without regard to one's sympathies in the contest, the successful practice of politics in campaigns and constituentassemblies may best be understood apart from party and ideology, as essentially the same game for both sides. This course will examine the political struggle in concrete and practical terms. Our exploration of strategy and tactics will begin by looking at the rules and realities of politics in the students' own hometowns, move through examples from American electoral history, and touch on the depiction of campaigns in movies and literature. The impact of ideology and personality on electoral outcomes, the value and cost of different methods of voter persuasion, and the role of candidates, field staff, managers, consultants, pollsters, and media experts will all be weighed. Students will also learn about the realities of legislative life, including relations with leadership, staff, lobbyists, reporters, and constituents, and the challenge of maintaining clarity in chaotic situations. Students will prepare a written campaign plan based on political conditions in their home legislative district and make an oral presentation to the class on that plan. They will also write a press release, a fundraising letter, and other brief campaign materials.
Taught by: Joseph Markley
Catalog detailsPSCI 27(W) SEM The Work of the Supreme Court: A Simulation
This course will provide students with an understanding of the institutional characteristics and decision-making process of the U.S. Supreme Court so they can better incorporate its opinions into their rolesas informed citizens and future leaders. At the outset, students will be provided with briefs, decisions and other materials relevant to a case pending before the Court. Where possible, cases are selected that address constitutional issues that have important political, social and/or historical significance. Past examples include whether a Colorado baker has constitutional protection from state anti-discrimination laws when he refused to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple, whether a privately-held company has a constitutional right to refuse on religious grounds to implement the women's health requirements in the Affordable Care Act, whether a high school student has a First Amendment right to express opinions contrary to his school's anti-drug policy, and whether "Enemy Combatants" detained at Guantanamo have a constitutional right to contest the legality of their confinement in federal district courts. Four students (two on each side) will be assigned to research and argue the case before the student "Supreme Court", which will consist of the other nine students. Each of the student Justices will study their assigned Justice and ask questions, decide the case and write an opinion as they believe their assigned Justice would. Once the Supreme Court issues its decision in the case, the instructors will schedule a follow up discussion to compare the Court's decision with the one the students reached.
Taught by: Robert Sidney Groban, John Houston Pope, Don Berens
Catalog detailsPSCI 28(W) SEM Shakespeare and the Law in the Movies
This course will begin with an analysis of the social, political and, most importantly, religious framework of the Elizabethan world into which Shakespeare was born in 1564. We will examinethe development of the English common law from its earliest origins in medieval times through Shakespeare's day and then analyze the relationship of a number of his early history plays to the Elizabethan concept of law and social order. We will consider several additional plays, including but not limited to, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Measure for Measure, to learn how Shakespeare used the law and legal principles in those works. Among the questions to be examined are how faithful was he to the law as he understood it? What dramatic licenses did he take? What did his use of the law tell us about Shakespeare the playwright and the dramatist? Film clips from Royal Shakespeare Company productions of the trial scenes in several of the plays listed above will be utilized to demonstrate the legal principles under discussion. In addition, we will take up the infamous "Authorship Question" much beloved by under-employed PhD. candidates. Was William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon the Author of the Plays, a man all but unknown outside of Oxfordshire, obscure, almost an historical nonperson, who could not even spell his own name the same way on any page of his last will and testament? Or was the true Author one of several much more prominent Elizabethans, who by birth, education and experience far outshone the Stratfordian and who had every compelling reason to keep his (or her...!) Authorship a secret? We will examine carefully all the evidence to reach a fair and just conclusion, and in the last class I will reveal for the first time in history to a mathematical certainty who was the real Author of the Plays. We will also meet with Allyn Burrows, artistic director of Shakespeare and Co, Lennox, MA
Taught by: Philip Rhinelander McKnight
Catalog detailsPSCI 30(W) HON Senior Essay: Political Science
Political Science senior essay.
Taught by: Nicole Mellow
Catalog detailsPSCI 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Political Science
To be taken by students registered for Political Science 493-494.
Taught by: Nicole Mellow
Catalog detailsPSCI 32(W) IND Individual Project: Political Science
To be taken by students registered for Political Science 495 or 496.
Taught by: Nicole Mellow
Catalog detailsPSCI 34(W) STU Jedi Training - Ethical Martial Arts for Scholar Athletes
Most martial arts in the public consciousness - in movies and on TV - cater to our most violent instincts, and while cinematic carnage may offer a useful catharsis formany viewers, it does not offer much one could copy in real life without getting, justifiably, arrested. While many of the victorious protagonists in such movies and tv shows portray fighting as a last resort, there is typically no more noble alternative offered by way of a character in the narrative who prevails without violence. A notable exception, of course, are the peaceful warrior archetypes known as Jedi - a mystical knightly order in the fictional Star Wars universe trained to guard peace and justice and specially attuned to the energy that unites all things. This course contends that the actual martial art of Aikido, "the Way of Peace", is as close as we can get to the training that would have been given to the Jedi a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Aikido is, like George Lucas's fictional Jedi, derived directly from the ways of the Japanese Samurai. Aikido blends Jujitsu body techniques with Kenjutsu sword work, and weaves them together with the ethical premise that resolving conflict works better when you don't hurt the other person. In practical terms, there are no kicks and no punches, and it looks rather like dancing with someone who doesn't know they want to dance with you. Two hours of Aikido training each day will improve each student's strength, balance, posture, flexibility, and confidence. Training will also include exercises to address mind-body integration, leadership presence, authenticity, and relaxation techniques. Everyone will also learn how to throw their friends across the room. 25% of training time will be devoted to wooden sword, staff, and dagger techniques. Students will also meet with the instructor once or twice a week to cover philosophical elements central to aikido practice and to discuss their individual projects.
Taught by: Robert Hormann Kent
Catalog detailsPSCI 99(W) IND Independent Study: Political Science
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Cheryl Shanks, Nicole Mellow
Catalog detailsPSYC 10(W) STU Yoga, Creativity & Mindfulness
Winter Study is an ideal time to set new intentions, and to focus on physical and mental well-being. This course offers a retreat in which students can de-stress, refresh, andtap into their creative strength. Primarily a yoga class, we will meet 4-6 hours each week to deep dive into the mindful practice of yoga. We'll also explore accessible ways to cultivate mindfulness, weather it's through journaling, mindful walking or eating, or guided meditation. The course is specifically designed so that students will have plenty of unstructured time each week. Early in the month, our group will go on a 2 day retreat at the renowned Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Located in a beautiful natural setting with breathtaking views, Kripalu offers a variety of daily yoga and mindfulness classes as well as delicious organic and vegan food. This will be a nourishing time for students to spend some healthy quiet time and to get to know each other better. Back on campus, we will continue to practice yoga together three times a week, and will also visit the Clark Art Museum, WCMA or MassMoca, where we'll enjoy guided tours exploring the intersection of art + mindfulness, and will even do yoga in the galleries themselves. Throughout the month, students will explore their own creativity, whether it's creative writing/journaling, or working with paper and colored pencils in a mandala making workshop. There will be a reading list and a final creative project. We'll share our projects in the last week of the class, and examples might be leading a guided meditation, sharing a drawing, painting or poem, or designing a yoga or mindfulness self-practice.
Taught by: Mary Edgerton
Catalog detailsPSYC 21(W) INT Psychology Internships
Would you like to explore applications of psychology in the "real world?" This course gives students an opportunity to work full-time during Winter Study in a mental health, business, education,law, or another setting in which psychological theories and methods are applied to solve problems. Students are responsible for locating their own potential internships whether in the local area, their hometowns, or elsewhere, and are welcome to contact the course instructor for suggestions on how to do this. In any case, all students considering this course must consult with the instructor about the suitability of the internship being considered before the Winter Study registration period. Please prepare a brief description of the proposed placement, noting its relevance to psychology, and the name and contact information of the agency supervisor. Before Thanksgiving break, the student will provide a letter from the agency supervisor which describes the agency, and the student's role and responsibilities during Winter Study. Enrolled students will meet the instructor before Winter Study to discuss matters relating to ethics and their goals for the course, and after Winter Study to discuss their experiences and reflections.
Taught by: Kris Kirby
Catalog detailsPSYC 22(W) RSC Introduction to Research in Psychology
This course provides a research opportunity for students who want to understand how psychologists ask compelling questions and find answers about behavior. Several faculty members, whose subfields include behavioral neuroscience,cognitive psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and the psychology of education, will have student projects available. Since projects involve faculty research, interested students must consult with members of the Psychology Department before electing this course. In addition, students should discuss with faculty what the weekly time requirements will be. Enrollment will be limited by available space in faculty research labs
Taught by: Amie Hane
Catalog detailsPSYC 23(W) SEM What Comes Next? Critical Approaches to Life After College
Discussions of post-grad with college students are often limited to the topics of careers, life skills, personal finances, and reaching key milestones. This course will take up an expansive viewof life after college that decenters these more conventional topics. Instead, we'll explore life beyond work, how to build and sustain communities, politics and civic engagement, learning outside of higher education institutions, identity formation, reimagined ambition, and much more. We'll engage with research, personal narratives, and fictional depictions relating to the years after college. Students will examine and critique cultural expectations and anxieties surrounding college graduates. Some class time will be reserved for topics chosen by students. Work outside of class will include weekly journal reflections, an interview assignment, preparation of two brief presentations, and a final five-page paper exploring selected ideas from the course. Students will finish the course with an expanded vision for life after college and a critical analysis of conventional narratives and wisdom about young adulthood.
Taught by: Corinne Greenblatt
Catalog detailsPSYC 25(W) SEM Exploring K-12 Education in the Berkshires
Interested in education? Exploring K-12 Education in the Berkshires provides a wonderful opportunity to dive into a project in one of our local K-12 schools. Special projects ranging from curriculumdevelopment to project based learning are offered in collaboration with local teachers and administrators to provide an intensive rich learning and teaching experience for Williams students. Students will be mentored by host teachers and will have the opportunity to explore other topics in education as well through further connections at their host schools, a weekly dinner speaker series and weekly reflections sessions. Typical projects involve 15-20 hours/week. Hours in the school are coordinated between the Williams student and the teacher. Final project will be decided on a case by case in advance basis depending on the school. Orientation for this class will occur in fall so that students are well connected with their host teacher and their school prior to the start of winter study.
Taught by: Sarah Brill, Kaatje White
Catalog detailsPSYC 26(W) SEM Charter Schools: Designing Innovative Public School Models to Meet Community Needs
Charter schools have provided the opportunity to create new and innovative school designs responsive to local needs and community assets, culture, industry and interests. Using the public charter school framework,students will learn what it takes to convince a government agency to authorize a new public school, which includes researching and identifying community needs, creating alternative school models that enhance existing education options, and demonstrating a school design that can be operated in an organizationally and financially sound manner. Students will survey the key design elements of public charter schools, including admissions, education plans, legal requirements for serving special populations, staffing models and budgets. Readings will include real-world policy documents, research papers and articles to inform classroom discussions. Students will be asked to design a unique school tailored to a specific community of their choosing. Working in small groups, students will craft new charter school proposals and ultimately advocate for them during an oral interview. The course will be led by a Williams alum with 30 years of experience in public education, including founding the local Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School.
Taught by: Simeon Stolzberg
Catalog detailsPSYC 28(W) SEM From "sketchy" to "abusive": Current research on harmful sexual behavior in college students
There are many lenses to use when considering why sexual violence happens on college campuses, and no single one fully or correctly tells the whole story. This course will lookat current research across the fields of psychology, sociology, and public health to consider what is known about how and why people engage in harmful sexual behaviors. We will also consider what the implications of that research are for everything from prevention programs, to policies in schools, to legislative action.
Taught by: Meg Bossong
Catalog detailsPSYC 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Psychology
To be taken by students registered for Psychology 493-494.
Taught by: Noah Sandstrom
Catalog detailsPSYC 99(W) IND Independent Study: Psychology
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Noah Sandstrom
Catalog detailsREL 11(W) STU Explorations in Embodied Consciousness through Yoga and Meditation
Have you ever wondered what it means to say you are alive? Diverse yoga traditions have been exploring this question in depth for centuries. Yoga proposes we know existentially throughexperience, and we know intellectually with various forms of thought and language. This course emphasizes experiential explorations while introducing key terms from the tradition for orientation. We explore how experiential knowledge across the spectrum of our existence is indispensable to support positive transformation in our moment-by-moment lived, embodied experience. Yoga offers practical means for direct, experiential knowledge of ourselves specifically through meditation. This course begins with each participant undertaking individual, formal instruction in Neelakantha Meditation as taught in Blue Throat Yoga. In the first week of class, each participant will be scheduled for a one-hour time slot for this personal teaching to take place. This meditation is an easeful practice anyone can learn through this formal process of instruction. We then move as a class into explorations of embodied sensation in conjunction with practical, concrete anatomical information about muscles and bones, breathing and organs, mind and senses. Through practices of yoga asana, ballwork, body scan, breathing, journaling and savasana we gain access to embodied, experiential knowledge. Key select ideas from yoga tradition help us to name and register what is happening in our experience, like a map helping us know where we are in a territory. To further our understanding we read from the Recognition Sutras, a pithy tenth century yoga masterpiece from Kashmir. Each week we welcome a guest teacher sharing their expertise in practice and study. Out of class activities include online yoga anatomy course, anatomy coloring book, sutra text reading, personal embodied practice and journaling. Three two page journal entries and a final project presentation, video or paper is also required.
Taught by: Natasha Judson
Catalog detailsREL 30(W) IND Senior Project: Religion
An advanced course for senior Religion majors (who are not writing theses) to further develop their senior seminar paper into a polished 25 page research paper (which will also bethe focus of a brown-bag presentation during the spring semester). The course will help the students with general research methods, workshopping, paper writing, and presentation practice.
Taught by: Jason Josephson Storm
Catalog detailsREL 99(W) IND Independent Study: Religion
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Denise Buell
Catalog detailsRLFR 13(W) STU Creative Portraiture in the Darkroom
In this course, we will revisit the boundaries between self-portraiture and portraiture. Working in pairs, students will both practice being a model and a photographer: they will pose as amodel for their classmates and assist a classmate in creating a self-portrait. In addition, using as a point of departure Hippolyte Bayard's photograph Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man, one of the first self-portraits in the history of photography, students will learn how to use the view camera (the large format camera used during the invention of photography in 1839 and still in use today). We will also study the characteristics of film photography, specifically, light, chemicals, sensitive media, and negative, and use them as tools to make creative portraits in the darkroom. By the end of the course, students will have learned to shoot with a 4 x 5 view camera and have practiced with manipulations in the darkroom in order to create unique portraits. Each student will exhibit their work as a triptych in an exhibition. This class requires an average of 10 weekly lab or studio hours outside of regular classes.
Taught by: Daniel Goudrouffe
Catalog detailsRLFR 30(W) HON Honors Essay: French
To be taken by candidates for honors other than by thesis route.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLFR 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: French
To be taken by students registered for French 493-494.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLFR 88(W) LAB French Sustaining Program
Students registered for RLFR 101-102 are required to attend and pass the French Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program¿check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLFR 99(W) IND Independent Study: French
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLIT 88(W) LAB Italian Sustaining Program
Students registered for RLIT 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Italian Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program¿check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Mario Sassi
Catalog detailsRLIT 99(W) IND Independent Study: Italian
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLSP 30(W) HON Honors Essay: Spanish
To be taken by candidates for honors other than by thesis route.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLSP 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Spanish
To be taken by students registered for Spanish 493-494.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLSP 88(W) LAB Spanish Sustaining Program
Students registered for RLSP 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Spanish Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program--check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRLSP 99(W) IND Independent Study: Spanish
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Leyla Rouhi
Catalog detailsRUSS 25(W) TVL Williams in Georgia
Williams has a unique program in the Republic of Georgia, which offers students the opportunity to engage in three-week internships in a wide variety of fields. Our students have helpedin humanitarian relief organizations like Save the Children, interned in journalism at The Georgian Times, taught unemployed women computer skills at The Rustavi Project, documented wildlife, studied with a Georgian photographer, done rounds at the Institute of Cardiology, and learned about transitional economies at the Georgian National Bank. In addition to working in their chosen fields, students experience Georgian culture through museum visits, theater performances, lectures, and excursions. We will visit the sacred eleventh-century Cathedral of Svetitskhoveli and the twentieth-century Stalin Museum, see the birthplace of the wine grape in Kakheti, and explore the region where Jason sought the Golden Fleece. Participants are housed in pairs with English-speaking families in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital city. Students will submit weekly reports on their work while in the country (6 pages in total or the equivalent in another medium), as well as an overall reflection (4 pages or the equivalent in another medium) upon their return from Georgia.
Taught by: Peter Orte, Jeni Legg
Catalog detailsRUSS 30(W) HON Honors Project: Russian
May be taken by candidates for honors other than by thesis route.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsRUSS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Russian
To be taken by students registered for Russian 493-494.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsRUSS 88(W) LAB Russian Sustaining Program
Students registered for RUSS 101-102 are required to attend and pass the Russian Sustaining Program. However, students are also required to register for a regular Winter Study course. Once theregular Winter Study registration process is complete, the Registrar's Office will automatically enroll you in the Sustaining Program¿check your class schedule to confirm enrollment.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsRUSS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Russian
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Gail Newman
Catalog detailsSOC 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Sociology
To be taken by students registered for Sociology 493-494.
Taught by: Christina Simko
Catalog detailsSOC 99(W) IND Independent Study: Sociology
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Christina Simko
Catalog detailsSTAT 11(W) LEC Introduction to Statistical Analysis of Network Data
Networks are everywhere in our connected world, from social networks like facebook and twitter, to information networks like citation and coauthors, from biological network like neural and ecological networks, totechnological networks like internet connections or power grids. In recent years, there has been an explosion of network data. How do we learn and represent information from these data? In this course, you will see examples from different types of networks. We will learn how to organize, visualize and describe network data using proper tools in R. Additionally since things are connected in networks, we will explore statistical methods to overcome this challenge with dependent data. Tentatively coursework includes 2-3 class meetings per week for lectures and hands-on computer labs. Students will finish a final project analyzing a network dataset of their interest and share their findings in written or oral form.
Taught by: Xizhen Cai
Catalog detailsSTAT 12(W) SEM Data in Society: Uses and Abuses
This class, accessible to statisticians and non-statisticians alike, will explore some of the many uses (and abuses) of data, statistics, and algorithms in society. We will discuss topics such ashow our view of the world both informs and is formed by the data we collect and present; how to understand data in context; how algorithms intended to reduce bias have in several situations---criminal justice, credit and insurance, employment, and more---had the opposite effect of perpetuating human biases; and ways in which we might work with data more ethically and responsibly. We will meet three times a week for two-hour sessions as a group. Students will be asked to complete readings in advance and write short reflections before each class. The class will also involve a final project in which students investigate the use of data or statistics in an area of their choice and present their findings to their classmates (orally, through a short paper, or through designing a website).
Taught by: Anna Plantinga
Catalog detailsSTAT 30(W) HON Senior Project: Statistics
To be taken by candidates for honors in Statistics other than by thesis route.
Taught by: Cesar Silva
Catalog detailsSTAT 31(W) HON Senior Honors Thesis
Statistics senior honors thesis.
Taught by: Cesar Silva
Catalog detailsSTAT 99(W) IND Indep Study: Statistics
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Cesar Silva
Catalog detailsSTS 99(W) IND Independent Study: Science and Technology Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Jason Josephson Storm
Catalog detailsTHEA 14(W) STU Intro to Storytelling
Ever been transfixed by a compelling story told by a skillful speaker, and wondered - wow, just how do they do it?! Ever wanted to get better at telling stories,whether in personal or professional contexts, but don't quite know how to get started? Storytelling is perhaps the most ancient of human arts, with a rich tapestry of traditions and techniques that can overwhelm you with where to begin. So... begin here! In this Winter Study class, join storytelling coach Hari Stephen Kumar for a warm and guided introduction to the 5 most important principles of storytelling in a fun, friendly, and supportive environment. Through play, curiosity, joy, and a step-by-step approach, you will learn practical techniques and concepts that you can apply right away in your academic, work, and personal lives. Reading: While there is no required textbook for the course, participants will be given a list of recommended books and resources for your own further exploration. Work: In-class instruction will include a mix of lecture and guided practical exercises. You will be expected to work on your stories both in class and between sessions. We will be telling stories in every class session, as well as practicing the art of storylistening as an active audience, so you will be expected to listen to and engage with each other's stories. Student performance: The class will culminate in a student showcase performance, to which members of the public are welcome!
Taught by: Hari Stephen Kumar
Catalog detailsTHEA 21(W) STU The Art of Being Present: A Gaudino Retreat
"One must live in the present without apology." So wrote former faculty member Robert L. Gaudino, an innovative teacher and leading proponent of experiential education at Williams. But what exactlydid he mean by this? Living in the present, whether at Williams or anywhere, is hard, especially in an era of non-stop, 24/7 activity. Rarely do we give ourselves the time to stop, slow down, focus on our breath and just allow ourselves to be open and attentive to whatever is going on in the moment. Engaging with art and creative activities can help facilitate ways of feeling more present in one's life. Led by the current Gaudino Scholar, this course invites students to use Winter Study as a "retreat" in which to experience and practice ways of feeling more present in their lives. By encountering art and engaging with various creative practices, such as crochet and/or knitting, we will work to gain a sense of what being present means for each person. As an off-campus excursion, we will visit The Kripalu Center in Lenox, learning practices of mindfulness and relaxation. Evaluation will be based on participation in the activities of the retreat, which will involve two, 3-hour-long sessions per week of collective meetings as well as an additional ten hours per week (or roughly 2 hours/day) of activity conducted on one's own time. Students will be required to keep a journal of their experience. The goal of the retreat is simply to learn how to embrace being "present without apology" at Williams and beyond.
Taught by: Amy Holzapfel
Catalog detailsTHEA 22(W) STU A Filmmaker's Workshop
his 4 week filmmaking workshop will culminate in screening of 6- 8 short films which are written. acted, directed and edited by students. The class is taught by actress JessicaHecht and her husband director/writer Adam Bernstein . The project was offered in 2019,2022, 2023 and accommodated 30 WS students. We would love to offer it once again with a slightly deeper focus on writing and direction. The key to this project is collaboration in the creative process. Each week there will be approx 8 hours of in class time and 10 -12 hours of practical work outside of class. The week we shoot ( week 3) will be the most demanding. Supplemental reading and film viewing is recommended. We will offer a set of resource materials. The weekly structure is as follows: WEEK ONE : Fundamentals of filmmaking -The Writer's Approach Our first week allows students to look at several examples of shorts films and experiment with writing prompts and improv exercises to build familiarity with how to structure a story. The week culminates in the formation of groups (4-5 students each) whose interest in a specific area of production has been noted. Scripts will be generated from these groups. All students participate as needed but will have more responsibility in one self chosen area. WEEK TWO: Fundamentals of TV and Film Direction The skills of screen acting vs acting on stage As scripts are being refined, participants will be schooled in basic shots, the director's role and the actor's preparation. Scripts are due by mid week, casting is completed by Friday WEEK THREE: Shooting a Film Groups are schooled in the organization of a shoot and the essential jobs of the crew. Films are shot over three days - a Final Pro vs AVID editing workshop completes the week. WEEK FOUR: Completing the Filmmaking Process. Films are edited and music added for the first 3 days of week. A public screening is organized to complete the workshop. Film discussion to follow.
Taught by: Jessica Hecht
Catalog detailsTHEA 24(W) SEM Fashioning Film
A survey of twentieth century films in which clothing took a starring role. The course will investigate how and why certain garments and costumes sparked a trend, created an icon,and incited controversy. At each class a film will be screened and then followed by student-led discussions. Popcorn will be served. Co-teachers Anne Kennedy and Terese Wadden are Costume Designers working in opera and theater.
Taught by: Anne Kennedy, Terese Wadden
Catalog detailsTHEA 27(W) STU Performance with Purpose: Introduction to Applied Theatre
Unlike product-driven commercial theatre forms, Applied Theatre is invested more in process and exploring the Who/What/Where/When/Why/How the ensemble crafts a performance together. Community is absolutely essential to this work andthe boundaries between artist and audience can be fluid. In this course, students will collaboratively devise an original piece of theatre to be shared with the Williams community that amplifies the students' own voices and experiences. Applied Theatre can often be therapeutic in nature, so this class will feature guest lecturers with a background in Drama Therapy and Social Work to discuss real-world applications, activist self-care, and navigating potentially activating subject matter that may arise. In this course, the students will collectively author a Group Agreement to guide their creative explorations and integrate Consent-Forward rehearsal practices. This class will strive to find a balance between playfulness and rigor, introspection and collaboration, and aesthetics and impact. The class will culminate with performances on and off-campus to showcase the students' work and share their message with the community.
Taught by: Sarah Keyes
Catalog detailsTHEA 30(W) IND Senior Production: Theatre
Theatre senior production.
Taught by: Amy Holzapfel
Catalog detailsTHEA 99(W) IND Independent Study: Theatre
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Amy Holzapfel
Catalog detailsWGSS 11(W) LEC Becoming an Informed Peer: Taking action on peer prevention, education, and facilitation to build a
In this course, students will gain knowledge on how to support classmates and friends in order to build a stronger community. Students will learn how to talk with each otherabout difficult topics, and learn how to educate and work with peers within systemic limitations. Topics we will cover include: Bystander Intervention, Alcohol and Consent, Active listening, Gatekeeper training for Suicide Prevention, characteristics of Healthy and Unhealthy relationships, Title IX and the PEACe, Queer relationships, Sex, Sexuality and Contraception, STDs/STIs, Boundaries, making referrals, and Self Care, Facilitation skills and Event planning.
Taught by: Laini Sporbert, Riley Kavanagh
Catalog detailsWGSS 13(W) SEM Women, Sex, and Gender at Work
The average college-educated woman starts out earning close to what her male peers do, but over a lifetime, the pay gap widens. At the CEO level, women have only recentlystarted to outnumber men named John. Whether it's overt discrimination or more subtle forms of bias, sex and gender continue to play a large role in the workplace. In this course, we will examine concepts like pay inequality, sexual harassment, transgender and gender stereotype discrimination, and the intersection of family and career. Case studies will include the U.S. Women's Soccer team pay disparity case and Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct in the film industry. We will also discuss practical career advice, such as finding a profession that's a good fit for you, advocating for yourself at work, and navigating a male-dominated industry. The class will engage with a variety of sources, including films, podcasts, and case law, and students will analyze an issue of their choosing for their final research paper.
Taught by: Samantha Soto
Catalog detailsWGSS 17(W) LEC When Drag Kings Sang the Blues: The Surprisingly Queer History of America's First Pop Stars
Some of the most famous American musical artists of the early twentieth century were not only "in the life" - meaning gay, bisexual, or transgender - but they sang aboutthis life too. The most courageous of these artists? Women - queer white women and queer women of color who flouted sexual and gender norms, some to the point that we might now call them trans or non-binary. This course introduces students to a little-known yet revolutionary moment in music history when pioneering musical stars sang boldly about sexual and gender fluidity, and when women's voices literally took center stage. Each week our sessions will be anchored with a particular artist whose life and music will lead us thematically to so much more. We'll start in vaudeville with the male impersonators (America's first drag kings), move on to the early blues and come home with the Jazz Age. Class materials will include videos, sheet music, drag memorabilia, recordings, memoirs and more. We'll listen to music from various genres, explore the power of lyrics and language, learn the unsung history of modern-day drag, dive into the stories behind the songs, and discover how queer performers were pivotal to the launching of the modern music industry. Students will be encouraged to explore the gifts and powers of their own voices too. Throughout we'll uncover what queer music history - and queer female artists - have to tell us about masculinity, femininity, gender fluidity, cross-dressing, homosexuality, love, race, religion and... fun. Students will be expected to keep a journal of ideas and reflection and do outside reading. For a final project students will write a 10-page paper, give a 10-minute in-class presentation, or complete a comparable creative project inspired by the music/artists learned.
Taught by: Sarah Skinner Kilborne
Catalog detailsWGSS 31(W) HON Senior Thesis: Women's and Gender Studies
See description of Degree with Honors in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Taught by: Gregory Mitchell
Catalog detailsWGSS 99(W) IND Independent Study:Women's and Gender Studies
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: Gregory Mitchell
Catalog detailsWSP 12(W) STU Yoga for Athletes
Designed for any and all athletes - both those who are currently on a team or those who are simply into being active - this course will help you enhanceyour performance by improving your flexibility, increasing your range of motion, and promoting mindfulness. Students will learn the core asanas (yoga poses) along with variations that work best for them. We'll explore hip, hamstring and shoulder openers and we will move through a variety of yoga flow sequences. We'll examine which kinds of stretches and poses benefit which sports, and we will promote a greater balance between the left and right sides of the body, which often become dissimilar through repeated movements on one side only. Yoga for Athletes is not "Athletic Yoga," but a mindful way to bring more stretching and awareness into your daily activities so as to avoid injuries and promote overall health and well-being.
Taught by: Mary Edgerton
Catalog detailsWSP 13(W) SEM To Offset or Not to Offset? Carbon Credits and Emissions Reductions at Williams College
This seminar-style course offers students the opportunity to take a closer look at Williams' efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and organizational carbon neutrality and net zero emissions claimsmore generally. Taking a holistic perspective on what it would take for the college to achieve net-zero emissions, we will meet with the engineers that are planning to sharply reduce our use of fossil fuels to deliver heat and hot water to our buildings. We will also discuss with experts in renewable electricity generation how utility-scale solar PV farms, like the Farmington, Maine solar PV facility, provide offtakers with renewable energy certificates (RECs) and how we think about expanding renewables on campus. Importantly, we will learn about the complex Voluntary Carbon Market and carbon credit projects and why they remain deeply controversial, not least because of the social and environmental justice questions they raise. Using a detailed database and rating tool developed by credit rating startup Calyx Global we will examine projects ranging from deforestation to biochar and waste diversion, demystify carbon intensity metrics and consider how the projects create social and economic community benefits or harms. Regardless of whether you're completely new to carbon credits and net zero emissions pledges or already have a robust understanding and firm opinions, we invite you to join our course for data-driven inquiry and candid discussions.
Taught by: Tanja Srebotnjak, Mike Evans
Catalog detailsWSP 14(W) LEC History of America's Pastime, Baseball
Slide headfirst into home plate and the history of America's Pastime, baseball. This class examines how baseball has reflected and influenced American culture, history and politics from its early daysbefore the Civil War to today. Knowledge of baseball, or previously playing experience, is specifically not a prerequisite for this history class. Among other things, the class will examine race, gender, politics, and economics through the lens of the sport of baseball. The class will dig deep into the segregation and integration of baseball and America, the role of women during the Second World War both on the ballfield and factories, and the Black Sox Scandal and rise of Babe Ruth. The class will also study the Americanization of baseball through the invention of the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown and how the Civil War helped spread the game across America. The class will also examine baseball's impact on American culture, such as movies and songs, poetry and even cuisine. The class will sample ballpark delicacies such as Cracker Jack, roasted peanuts and hotdogs (vegan and gluten-free options will be available). The class will discuss macro topics related to baseball as well as its nuances, such as the tradition of the first pitch, from President Taft to President Bush in New York City after 9/11 to Noah Kahan; why baseball is the only sport where the manager wears a uniform; and tradition behind the seventh inning stretch. Each student is required to participate in one of two debates. Reading includes a text book and biography. Students are also expected to watch various movies, documentaries and television shows, and participate in classroom discussions. There are optional opportunities to participate including singing and poetry recitation, for example. The class wraps up with a day trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Taught by: John O'Keefe
Catalog detailsWSP 15(W) STU Bronze Casting
Bronze Casting This course is designed to introduce the fundamental principles of foundry processes as they relate to sculpture. We will build upon the basic principles of mold making andcasting while exploring more complex concepts and techniques. Processes will include lost wax, silicone rubber, patina, metal finishing, aluminum and bronze casting. We will review the possible health hazards associated with casting, and learn safe working methods, as well as have in-class discussions about concept and craft, various fabrication and finishing methods, and uses for molds in the making of sculpture. Course Requirements:
Taught by: Samantha Pasapane
Catalog detailsWSP 31(W) SEM Current Issues in Higher Education Leadership
The work of a college president has gone from obscurity to headline news in a few short years. Why do people seem to suddenly care so much? Why is ourcountry so torn about what college is... and should be? Through readings and multimedia, discussions and small group exercises, writing assignments and conversations with special guests, we'll look at the ups and downs of educational leadership, both nationally and at Williams. The class will encourage deeper understanding of both public opinion and the view from the helm; offer insight into the workings of Williams and colleges more generally; and develop ideas that can be applied in leadership roles of all kinds.
Taught by: Jim Reische, Maud Mandel
Catalog detailsWSP 32(W) SEM Making a Better Next Semester: Developing Your Academic Toolkit
Do you feel disappointed in how the fall semester is going? Do you feel like you are constantly behind in your coursework or struggling to juggle courses and extracurriculars? Areyou looking to try something new? This Winter Study course provides students with the space to reflect on previous academic work, learn about strategies and habits to manage their workload, and identify plans for future semesters. The goal of this course is for students to learn more about their own academic strengths and the best strategies to use for their personal academic success. The class will cover topics like time and project management, procrastination and motivation, goal-setting, studying and reading strategies, among others. Students will be required to read short selections from articles and book chapters between classes and will respond to journal prompts after every class. Students will produce one short artifact of reflection (essay, collage, video, podcast, etc.) that identifies the concepts, strategies, and habits that they will use in future semesters. Preference will be given to first-year students, but all are encouraged to register.
Taught by: Nick Hanford
Catalog detailsWSP 41(W) STU Knitting for Mindfulness (Beginner)
"In knitting, when you create the first stitch of a new project, you cast on. When an item is finished, you bind it off. Both of these actions, I've foundare incredibly satisfying - the bookends of something manageable and finite. They give me a sense of completion in a world that will always and forever feel chaotic and incomplete." - Former First Lady Michelle Obama, The Light We Carry In this studio course, intended for beginner knitters, students will be introduced to the calming, joyful and meditative practice of knitting as both a creative outlet and a means of reducing anxiety and stress. Throughout the course, students will gain standard knitting techniques and skills while exploring the physical and mental health benefits associated with this practice. Through hands-on instruction, students will learn basic knitting techniques. They will also learn how to read a knitting pattern and how to select appropriate yarn and needles for knitting projects through in-person field trips to two local yarn studios. By the end of the course, students will have produced a cowl, a hat, and a project of their own design. Throughout the course, students will explore how knitting can serve as a meditative practice, helping to calm the mind and reduce stress. In addition to developing technical skills, students will explore the cultural, social, and political dimensions of knitting. This includes examining the gendered history of knitting, and the ways in which knitting has been reclaimed by modern-day makers and activists. By the end of the course, students will have developed a foundational knowledge of knitting and mindfulness techniques as well as skills and techniques to explore their own creative designs through the production of a personal knitting pattern.
Taught by: Ashley Cart
Catalog detailsWSP 43(W) STU Knitting for Mindfulness (Advanced)
For students who already know basic knitting techniques but want to take this skill to the next level. This course is designed for experienced knitters looking to learn how todo more advanced skills such as stranded colorwork and sweater making while building community with fellow knitters. In addition to hands-on practice, students will deepen their understanding of knitting theory and design principles. They will learn how to read and interpret complex knitting patterns, adapt designs to suit their preferences, and troubleshoot common challenges that arise in advanced projects. Students will complete an adult sweater by the end of the course, in addition to visiting local yarn stores, yarn dyers, and yarn spinners to understand the local landscape of fiber arts in Berkshire County.
Taught by: Ashley Cart
Catalog detailsWSP 48(W) STU Braided Rug Workshop: Resistance to Throw-Away Culture
Braided textiles with the use of fabric scaps can be traced to the indigenous tribes in North America, who made saddles and blankets. Colonial settlers were quick to adopt theirweaving techniques to make rugs for their homes. Around the 1930s the practice of connecting braids by "lacing" them together was started. This is the method generally used today. In this studio course, suitable for anyone with hand dexterity, students will be introduced to the history of rug making in North America and its evolution over time. Homework will include short readings each week that explore the rich and varied methods of rug making, as well as an exploration of the art as an act of resistance to the disposable culture and overproduction we see in the textile industry today. The reuse of textiles and the manipulation of these items with one's own hands provides a powerful tactile experience and brings awareness to what is required to produce these everyday goods and their varied functionality, from interior accessories to intricate works of art. As part of this exploration, we will adventure to one or two nearby textile recuperation mills. Coursework will culminate with an artistic and/or functional final rug of the student's choosing.
Taught by: Nadia Lucchin
Catalog detailsWSP 51(W) LEC The Arts in Prewar Paris
In the years around World War I, Paris attracted creative talents from across Europe. This fertile cultural moment witnessed an extraordinary collection of artists collaborating on projects, exchanging ideas, andexploring new ways of perceiving the world. This course will immerse you in vibrant Belle Époque Paris, through works of music, visual art, dance, theater, and literature. We will spend the most time on the work of two especially prolific artists who were friends and collaborators: Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky. Other artists examined will include Claude Debussy, Guillaume Apollinaire, Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse, and Natalia Goncharova. Students will examine artworks from the WCMA collection and the Clark Institute and watch orchestral and ballet performances online or at the library. This course will meet 6 hours a week for discussion, field trips, and lectures. Students will complete brief reflection assignments on what they heard, read, and watched.
Taught by: Nathan Cornelius
Catalog detailsWSP 55(W) SEM Home Economics: Living on your own
Sometimes learning by doing is the only way to feel comfortable with a new task/skill. This course will empower students who have never lived on their own to cook, fix,and "make-do" while living solo. We will focus on the "how" and "why" of the skills we learn. Students will work together while the instructor is available for troubleshooting and advice. Over three weeks, students will experiment with household maintenance, food preparation, and household tasks. The final week will be dedicated to learning the skills people would like to learn, taught by the instructor and students if they have certain expertise. Reading and videos will supplement this hands-on course.
Taught by: Whit Montgomery-Nassif
Catalog detailsWSP 56(W) STU Thrive: Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness and Music - Unlocking your full potential
Are you interested in tools to better embrace the fast-paced demands of academic and social life? Melding the timeless practices of yoga, with the calming power of meditation, the presenceof mindfulness, and the soul-stirring resonance of music, this course is a hand-crafted pathway to personal wellness and inner tranquility. Combining short video lectures, group discussion, yoga (Hatha, Kundalini and Yin and Restorative) meditation and mindfulness practices such as taught through Instinctive Meditation and the philosophy of Thich Nhat Hahn, you will learn harmonious mind-body integration. This is a fully engaging experience where you will actively develop a personal toolkit of practices and exercises tailored to your lifestyle and personal needs, helping you manage stress and foster well-being long after the course has ended. Course Outline: Two R&R days at Kripalu Retreat Center, short visits to Hopkins Forest/Clarke Art Institute. Practice yoga's essential postures and breathwork for relaxation and endurance, perfect for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. Learn practical meditation skills and mindfulness techniques to relax deeply and release tension. Explore how music can reinforce cognitive function, reduce stress, and elevate your mood. Music will also be incorporated into yoga, mindfulness, and meditation practices to deepen the sense of relaxation and focus. In addition you will learn self- massage techniques and other yogic Ayurvedic self-care practices. Invited guest presenters will guide you to practice self-massage and learn how to create a soul collage. Requirements: You will be expected to attend 3 sessions of 2 hours each per week (6 hours per week 1 to 1.5 hours of practice and presentation, discussion, and Q&A), keep a daily 5min journal. The final deliverable will be a 15-minute share of your newly created personal THRIVE toolkit and ideas for navigating your life more skillfully
Taught by: Ingrid Charlotte Samson
Catalog detailsWSP 95(W) IND Gaudino Fellowship: Immersive Engagement and Reflection
The Gaudino Fund is offering Gaudino Fellowships for a group of 2 to 4 students during Winter Study, based upon a proposed domestic or foreign collaborative project. Student teams shouldorganize their proposed projects around two main components: direct encounter with otherness and self-reflection. Projects will be evaluated on whether they subject the students to "uncomfortable learning", i.e. having an experience that challenges and perhaps alters one's view of what it is to live a good life and the group's commitment to incorporate separate home stays for each fellow as part of their project, either joint or separate work/engagement internships, and a structure to facilitate collaborative action and learning. The team selected will be guided and overseen by the Gaudino Scholar who will conduct appropriate preparatory discussions and follow-up sessions to optimize and help students articulate lessons learned from the overall experience. The intent of the program is to open the student to an understanding (of both the familiar and unfamiliar), and to a development of empathy, that could not be achieved without the fellowship experience. N.B. Each prospective team needs to meet with the Gaudino Scholar as early as possible, but no later than September, and submit their group application by September 30. Application guidelines can be found at winterstudy.williams.edu. Each student is expected to write a short (3-4 page) self-reflection before leaving for WSP, keep a journal of their experience, as well as write a 8-10 page paper by the end of the Winter Study period reflecting on their experiences and what has changed in the student's perceptions and beliefs from the opening essay. They will also meet the other members of the team on a weekly basis during Winter Study and regularly update the Gaudino Scholar by email and/or Skype calls. The team that receives the Gaudino Fellowship will give a brief presentation to the Board about their experience at the Board's spring meeting in April. The team whose project is approved will receive the Gaudino Fellow designation. In addition, students on Financial Aid will receive Gaudino funding from a minimum of 50% to a maximum of 90% of the budget for the project up to $2,500, as determined by the Financial Aid office. No additional funding for students' projects will be provided by the College.
Taught by: Amy Holzapfel
Catalog detailsWSP 99(W) IND Independent Study: Special
Open to upperclass students. Students interested in doing an independent project (99) during Winter Study must make prior arrangements with a faculty sponsor. The student and professor then complete theindependent study proposal form available online. The deadline is typically in late September. Proposals are reviewed by the pertinent department and the Winter Study Committee. Students will be notified if their proposal is approved prior to the Winter Study registration period.
Taught by: TBA
Catalog details