INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES (IDST)

Content varies each semester.

College Thriving empowers all students to participate fully in the opportunities of a research university and find resources to support them in their educational pursuits at Carolina. The course enhances and provides new tools to support students' ability to study systematically, learn deeply, and monitor and foster their own well-being. First-year students only. Members of Honors Carolina will fulfill this requirement with HNRS 101 instead.

This course teaches students the basics of working with data: how to acquire it, store it, analyze it, visualize it, and disseminate and interpret information about it, and how to do all of this in a responsible and ethical way. We will discuss the methods and tools that researchers use to accomplish all of these steps in working with data.

Death and dying are universal human experiences. Yet there are cultural and historical variations in how we define and experience death and dying. This course explores the concepts of death and dying from three different disciplines (examples may include, but are not limited to, Anthropology, English and Comparative Literature, and Psychology and Neuroscience). This course will consider similarities and differences between the discipline research methodologies and introduce students to data literacy and principles of evidence.

The idea that humans can be divided into distinct races has been used to justify the persecution, enslavement, and extermination of groups based on their presumed inferiority. Today, scientists agree that what we describe as races are in fact social constructs, not genetic realities. Students will learn why race is not a viable biological concept, how the idea of race arose and is maintained, and what alternatives exist for understanding diversity and change over time.

This course focuses on the question of how the genre of science fiction has been used to address the world's environmental concerns and how these concerns affect communities differently depending on their gender, race, and class. The course investigates global environmental challenges including resources, overpopulation, consumption, and climate change. Emphasis will be placed on texts and characters created by women and ethnic minorities. Students will be introduced to comparative, global, intersectional, and interdisciplinary approaches.

This course exposes students to diverse scientific approaches to understanding happiness and subjective and physical well-being. The three professors offer perspectives from three disciplines: physiology, psychology, and sociology. The course teaches students research skills as well as evidence-based life skills, such as teamwork, developing social connections including "belongingness" at UNC, being physically active, and becoming confident that they can deploy these skills to increase their happiness and health.

This course will consider gender through the lenses of three distinct disciplines. We will explore gender-related issues and consider how gender has been conceptualized, represented, and challenged throughout history. This course will establish a foundation from which students can think critically about gender from multiple perspective-personal, social, cultural, and political.

This course examines linguistic, geopolitical, and socio-environmental boundaries to foster an inter-sectional understanding of identity and belonging in the Americas. Course topics (e.g., migration, justice, environmental well being) are examined through Spanish language-based films and artwork. Students will expand their understanding of the Spanish language, context art, and global issues. Students will have assignments that involve performance, creative design, and fabrication. Students may not receive credit for both LTAM 117I and IDST 117I.

How can you distinguish "good" science and "bad" science in the world around you? This course focuses on scientific literacy, the defining characteristics of "good" science, and how to identify logical fallacies and heuristic shortcuts that make legitimate science difficult to discern. We will discuss best practices for science educators and journalists to effectively communicate accurate scientific knowledge. Each semester we will focus on two relevant science issues, e.g COVID-19 and climate change.

Have you ever thought about the food you eat? If you ate a hamburger or a salad, where did that meal come from? If you were living in a different country, what would this meal look like? Who are the laborers who made the meal possible? Is your body designed for this food? How do we make policies about food? What are the ethical concerns around food? This course will discuss these questions and more.

This course focuses on astronomy as it developed in the ancient Mediterranean and early modern Europe, from astronomy's early beginnings as a means to keep calendars and the underpinnings of mythology, to its central role for developing natural sciences during the early modern period. Students will acquire skills to understand how different epochs interpreted the generation of knowledge; how their interpretations were influenced by their culture, mythology, and religion; and how science arrives at knowledge.

The Mason-Dixon line marks a physical boundary of the US South, but Southern identity arises from more than a line on a map. This course will examine the South through its music, film, literature, and public rhetoric, to consider how those elements intersect with economic, technological, and political factors. In short, how can the South be simultaneously the birthplace of rock and roll and the origin of the "Southern Strategy", American authenticity and Coca Cola?

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to some of the most essential and exciting debates about humanity's relationship to the universe. We explore such topics as the beginning of existence, the nature of time, contact with the supernatural world, and predictions about the end of all things - from the perspective of philosophy, physics, history, and related disciplines.

What are borders and boundaries? How have they changed over time? How do people experience borders and what can they do when they impinge on their lives? We will address these and other questions through case studies anchored in the ancient and modern Middle East and Mediterranean. We will study the cultural and political effects of borders and boundaries, especially the experience of bordering practices by refugees and migrant communities across time.

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed life dramatically for millions of people. Yet its realities - social distancing, quarantine, protective masks, job loss, education disruption, anxiety, loneliness and death, have been part of life during pandemics and epidemics across time and global space. This course brings three specific lenses and sets of methods to bear on experiences of pandemics - those of literature, anthropology, and philosophy. Themes of care, resource inequalities, stigma, and knowledge production are highlighted.

Oscar Wilde wisely warns against being someone "who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing" (Lady Windemere's Fan). Of course, people often use the price as shorthand for value. Useful as this is, it is misleading, too, in ways that matter to critical thinking and rational decision making. In this course, we will be exploring the differences - and connections - between prices and values.

What is art? Where is it found? Museums are devoted to it, scholars study it, collectors spend millions to own it. And yet, definitions of art reveal more about the people doing the defining than they do about the creative expressions themselves. By asking the question--rather than by answering it--this class will explore why art matters as a category and what changing conceptions of art tell us about people and cultures around the world.

This course will introduce students to different ethical perspectives and distinctive approaches to current issues including, but not limited to, memory, race, elections, public opinion, gender, sexuality, money, and social media. Students will engage the histories, politics, and religious traditions of communities that historically have been disempowered and interrogate structural processes of bias and inequality with the goal of interrogating these systems and learning how to speak about resistance and transformation.

Many of our cultural endeavors are aimed at overcoming the fears, suspicions, and misunderstandings that manifest as racism, misogyny, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, etc. In this class, we examine the cognitive and political roots of hatred as well as cultural efforts to overcome it through performance, literature, film, photography, and faith. We ask: How have artists and faith leaders addressed such animosity, and how can our practices of reading, viewing, listening, and scholarship counter hate?

This course combines perspectives from science fiction studies, anthropology, public policy, and marine ecology to study the food we eat now and the food we might eat in the future. We will explore how our love of and need for food influences our social and political structures, trade and conflict among cultures, and our relationship with our planet. Using fiction, films, and research we will examine (future) food technologies, policies, sustainability, and eating practices.

What is a fair electoral system? How have systems of voting and elections changed over time? What possibilities for reform exist? This course challenges students to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, and abuses of different electoral systems, past and present, and to consider proposed improvements. Topics may include representation, gerrymandering, disenfranchisement, voter suppression, fraud, and reforms such as ranked choice voting. The course will involve a blend of mathematical analysis, historical context, and political theory.

This course aims to help students navigate the messy intersection of science, policy, and politics by teaching how the substance, history, presentation, and interpretation of science influence our understandings of the world. Students will: 1) analyze public discourse and debate about science, 2) consider how philosophies, data, and interpretations are created, delivered, and received, and 3) discuss how these factors - alongside partisan politics and bias from both sides of the aisle - influence science.

How do you avoid being fooled by bogus claims? In this class, we examine climate change and the age of Earth and the universe - two topics where our underlying beliefs push us toward conclusions that conflict with the evidence. In addition to learning the science underlying these topics, we will learn the psychology of belief systems, why our brains reject some information, and how to deal with uncertainty, recognize logical fallacies, and examine claims.

Many followers of the three Abrahamic faiths believe Jerusalem is where the presence of God dwells and the Last Judgment will take place. For this reason, throughout history imperial powers have fought over control of the city, which has become a flashpoint in the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. This course examines Jerusalem's historical background, religious significance, politics, and geography, examining how works by Israeli and Palestinian artists engage with the real and imagined city.

The vision of this class is to generate community through multi-disciplinary teamwork for a more dignified and meaningful coexistence. "Artivism" will use traditional mediums like theater, film, visual art and music to investigate and raise awareness of social, environmental, and technological challenges in our society. Our focus will be around issues of incarceration with a focus on the death penalty in North Carolina.

This course presents the principles of relational leadership-- a human-centered approach to working better together that prioritizes the quality of our relationships to increase collaboration, equity, and impact across health systems and communities. Students will apply the relational leadership framework to build skills for advancing teamwork, communication, collaborative decision making, psychological safety, and trust, and will engage with leaders in healthcare, community, and academic spaces, while also focusing on their individual leadership growth.

If life is a performance, who is writing the script? This course combines the conceptual approach of performance studies and the vocal and physical/somatic exploration of theatre to explore life as performance. With the natural world as our stage, class functions as a laboratory where students generate original work using creative writing, interdisciplinary movement, vocal practices, mindfulness and site-specific exploration. By training multi-sensory responsiveness, students will develop creative responsibility for the space we inherit and inhabit. This course will culminate in the creation of an original performance on campus.

This interdisciplinary course explores the different ways that journalists, screenwriters, and comedians depict others in their work. Taught by specialists in journalism, screenwriting, and American studies, the course explores connections between these fields. We will study docuseries, popular nonfiction, stand-up comedy, and fictional movies and TV series. Through readings, screenings, and dialogues with guest artists, students will engage with crucial questions of representation. Who "gets" to tell someone else's story? How can research and data help storytellers to "get it right"? What do we mean by terms like "authenticity" and "cultural appropriation"?

This course explores how we engage ethically with troubling chapters in the past, including slavery and genocide. Can we hold historical figures morally accountable by today's standards? Should nations apologize or make reparations for historical injustices? How do we remember - or forget - atrocities? Students will grapple with moral dilemmas about collective guilt, justice, and responsibility. We will read philosophical arguments alongside historical texts, encouraging students to develop reasoned positions on how to engage the past.

This course introduces students to archaeology as an interdisciplinary way of understanding human experience, by combining scientific methods with cultural interpretation. Through case studies from the Mediterranean, the Near East, and the Americas, students explore how archaeologists reconstruct past societies from daily life and urban design to ritual, empire, and environmental change. No prior experience is required; the course focuses on big ideas, real-world relevance, and the surprising ways the material traces of the past shape our world today.

This is an Interdisciplinary special topics course. Content varies each semester.

Special topics course. Content varies each semester.

A mentored research course for students participating in an undergraduate research consulting team under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Requires participation in research and a report/presentation.

A seminar designed to introduce Southern Futures Fellows to research and creative discovery with the American South, with a focus on the arts and humanities. Course includes guest lectures, site visits, and assignments that will help Fellows develop their summer research, creative discovery, or service project. Priority enrollment for Southern Futures Fellows. Students interested in pursuing undergraduate research with the American South, particularly in the Arts and Humanities, are encouraged to take course, space permitting.

This course provides first and second-year students with the fundamentals of undergraduate research at Carolina and helps them identify their interests and researchers aligned with these interests. It also helps students chart their course for getting started in undergraduate research. The class features faculty and researchers beyond academia (in industry, non-profit, and governmental sectors) who will discuss their research and their career pathways.

A seminar in which faculty discuss their own work. Students will learn how topics are defined and investigated and how undergraduates can engage in discovery. Pass/Fail only.

Required of Chancellor's Science Scholars. The goals of this course are to provide students with opportunities to learn professional development skills to better prepare for the next step in their academic career and discuss the ever-increasing need for broadening participation and representation in STEM fields. Permission of the instructor to add and drop this course.

Special topics course. Content varies each semester.

This course is for students selected as Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) for interdisciplinary studies courses during the semester they serve as ULAs. Students develop skills to effectively support peer learning through structured in-class and out-of-class activities. The course emphasizes practical applications of pedagogy, leadership, communication, and group dynamics as students prepare for and reflect on their ULA role. Permission required. Students must have successfully completed, with a grade of C or higher, the course they will be assisting.

The Global Tech Experience is a virtual experiential learning program that enables undergraduate students from all backgrounds to build career-focused intercultural and technical skills. A learning contract is required.

Independent project to be arranged with an instructor.

Permission of the department. Special reading and research for graduate and undergraduate students on a specific interdisciplinary topic under the direction of a faculty member.

Permission of the instructor. Required of all senior honors candidates.

Permission of the instructor. Second semester of senior honors thesis; required of all senior honors candidates.

Permission of the instructor. Graduate seminar exploring selected topics.