Courses

An on-campus course offered during the Winter or May term. May be offered for .5 course credits or as a co-curricular (0 credit). Counts toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement.

May Term information

184B: Colors, Graphs and Networks

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: Open to students who have had Math 141, Math 136, Math 151, Math 123, or Math 223. Some coding experience is preferred.

Have you ever wondered about the following questions: If you are given map of a country divided into states/regions, what is the fewest number of colors needed to color each region so that no two adjacent regions have the same color? If you are part of a social network group what would be the most efficient way to spread important information throughout the network. In a similar vein, how can you model a vaccination program to prevent the spread of an epidemic. In this course, you will use graph theory to intuitively model and answer such questions. You will also use python to model and answer such questions.

Winter Term information

184A: The Mathematics of Gerrymandering

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: None

Introduction to gerrymandering--drawing legislative or congressional district maps in such a way as to advantage a particular party or group--with an emphasis on quantitative methods. Methods for detecting gerrymandered maps will be discussed, including compactness measures, the Efficiency Gap, and the Mean-Median difference. Methods for creating gerrymandered maps will also be discussed, and students will practice doing so in small examples. No specific prerequisites other than a willingness to engage with quantitative methods.

184B: Personal Finance

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: None

This course aims to equip young adults with essential knowledge and skills crucial for effectively managing their financial lives. It focuses on four key areas of personal finance: 1. Managing Money: Emphasizing the importance of financial planning, budgeting, informed decision-making regarding money, and understanding various financial products available to consumers. 2. Financing Large Items: Educating students on comprehending credit mechanisms, utilizing credit wisely, and avoiding excessive debt. Additionally, it covers strategies to optimize savings for maximum financial growth. 3. Utilizing Financial Markets: Exploring diverse investment avenues and guiding students on making investments aligning with their objectives, such as retirement planning, to ensure their money works for them effectively. 4. Managing Risk: Teaching students how to utilize financial tools, such as insurance, to shield themselves against potential risks. This course places significant emphasis on providing age-relevant knowledge and practical advice. Its primary goal is to empower students to make sound financial decisions and cultivate prudent financial behaviors for the long term. This course is designed for two groups of students: those seeking a better understanding of their personal financial situation and those preparing for a career in financial planning.

184C: Data Analysis Using Excel and SQL

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: None

In order to make predictions, draw conclusions, or inform our decision-making process, we often collect, transform, combine, and inspect data to perform analysis. This course focuses on how to perform these steps using the features of the Excel spreadsheet software as well as a relational database system. Excel topics include importing common file formats, workbook structure, data types, formula design, cell referencing, filtering, sorting, conditional formatting, functions (numerical, date/time, text, lookup, statistical, decision-making), Pivot Table, charts, Solver, and more. In addition, students will discover how large quantities of data are often stored in tables of relational database systems. Students will learn how to define tables, insert/remove data, and establish relationships between tables using primary and foreign keys. Moreover, students will learn how to write queries in the Structured Query Language (SQL) that join, sort, filter, prune, and aggregate data in order to answer specific questions about datasets.

184D: Dark (the Netflix series) and Evil in German Culture

Course Time: TBD
Fees:
Prerequisites: None

During the short days of January, we will make our way through the sci-fi Netflix series Dark and, through it, look at the dark side in/of German culture, from ogres in fairy tales to 20th-century world wars. Reading short stories and considering philosophical arguments in the context of Dark, we will ask questions about the attractions of evil, the nature of time, and the limits of our hopes and responsibilities in the face of a sometimes dark world. Through the series and encounters with writers from the German cultural sphere like Freud and Nietzsche, we will think about how experiments in thought and fantasy like time travel and the eternal return can help both to illuminate the darker sides of life and to see the darkness in its lighter sides. Students will be able to choose their own formats and topics for their projects, which explore more deeply some of the questions we raise, whether scientifically, sociologically, or existentially.

184E: New Play Production Workshop

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: Instructor permission required to enroll.

New Play Production Workshop will host OBIE winner and Academy Award nominated playwright/screenwriter José Rivera for a workshop to continue developing his play-in-process, Lunar Rhapsody. Set on an outdoor basketball court on the night of a lunar eclipse, Lunar Rhapsody explores human nature and existence, relationships, dreams, and understandings of the miraculous and the otherworldly. Enrolled students my participate as actors, stage managers, or crew members. Guided by Rivera and Dr. Sloan, students will learn and employ skills in script and character analysis, dramaturgy, rehearsal, design, performance, production, and event planning. Students will also gain valuable knowledge about playwriting and new play production, and have the opportunity to participate in additional workshops. The course will culminate in a staged reading in Kerr Theatre at the end of the winter term. This Winter Term experience will precede a full production of A Lunar Rhapsody in Moore Theatre as part of DePauw's mainstage theatre season in April. Winter Term participants will be eligible to audition/interview for participation in that production.

184F: Sweet and Savory Science

Course Time: TBD
Fees: $125
Prerequisites: The only prerequisites for this course are an interest in chemistry or cooking and a willingness to improve your understanding and ability in both.

Cooking is chemistry (and a little biology and physics too). Understanding the chemistry that is happening while we cook can improve the quality of the food we prepare. This course will focus on learning scientific concepts related to cooking with the goal of developing a better understanding of cooking techniques and therefore improving our ability to produce good food. Of course, nobody will improve their cooking without actual practice in the kitchen. We will spend time both in the classroom, learning science, and in the kitchen practicing cooking. Students will be expected to keep a 'lab notebook' describing their cooking experiments and the results they obtain. They will prepare meals for judges in a cooking competition. Finally, the WT experience will hopefully culminate in catering a luncheon for DePauw's President and guests if we can schedule that as we have in the past.

184G: Mediating Conflict - Certificate

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: None

This on-campus Winter Term will give students the opportunity to receive the industry standard 40-hour mediation training and receive a certificate for that work from the Peace and Conflict Studies program, as well as engage some of the complexities of the work like simulations and discussions on mediator ethics, difference and cultural aspects of engagement, and power dynamics. This course provides a highly marketable skill set including understanding and analyzing conflicts, conflict engagement and de-escalation skills, problem-solving, leadership, empathy skills, and the ability to understand group and human dynamics. We will develop simulations together so students can practice with the kinds of conflicts they anticipate facing in their future lives like family or relationship conflicts, client or customer conflicts, conflicts within activist and organizing groups, supporting clients towards negotiation as lawyers, conflicts within health care settings, etc.

184H: Campanology

Course Time: TBD
Fees: $30
Prerequisites: None

Students will learn about the history and practice of bell ringing. Bells have been used for music and communication since ancient times. Part of the course will involve reading and discussing bell-related literature (for example, Poe's 'The Bells' and Sayers' 'The Nine Tailors'). Another aspect of the course will look at the physics of bells and their unique harmonics, as well as mathematical patterns in the ringing of bells. A major component of the course will be learning to ring music on English handbells, with the goal of giving a small concert at the end of the term. The class will also experience carillon music and change-ringing through trips to nearby bell towers. Students will give a presentation on an aspect of the history of bells, and will also be evaluated on their contribution to class discussions, rehearsals, and the final performance. No prior musical skills will be required.

184J: Calculus I Preparation

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: None

This course is intended to review the basic concepts from College Algebra to help students entering Calculus I Spring 2025. Topics include: exponents, order of operations, factoring, and simplifying polynomial, rational, and radical expressions. As well as linear, quadratic, polynomial, rational, inverse, trigonometric, logarithmic, and exponential functions.

184K: Medical Terminology

Course Time: TBD
Fees: $125
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course, however having completed Anatomy and Physiology (KINS255 and KINS256) will be an advantage.

This course will focus on medical terminology as language used to describe anatomical structures, procedures, conditions, processes and treatments in the medical field. The course will provide a foundation for medical and health science language. The aim of this course is two fold. First, to provide the terminology and language used in the fields of anatomy and physiology as well as medical sciences. Further, to provide DePauw University students with the opportunity to fulfil a common prerequisite course in preparation for educational pathways in health sciences. The course will use publisher Cengage MindTap online learning modules for this course. Students will work through each of the body systems and focus on mastering the language necessary to describe how each system works and practice problem sets within each body system. For each body system, a brief overview of structure and function will be provided and assessed. The course will also include a general summary of medical specialties, pathology, diagnostic tools and treatment procedures.

184M: Psychopathology in Film

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: PSY 100 is preferred, but not required.

What defines a psychopath? Is multiple personality disorder for real? Join us in this course for a trip through Hollywood's depictions of some of the most mythologized psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, bipolar disorder, and certain personality disorders including narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline. Critically explore depictions of mental disorder in modern film and the extent to which they capture our emerging understanding of dysfunction, as well as the stereotypes and stigma that typically surround mental illness. In this exploratory course, students will learn about the origins and symptoms of various types of mental disorder. Students will also learn about the clinical method of assessment, as it relates to diagnosing psychological disorders based on samples of behavior. Thus, the course emphasizes learning to think like a mental health practitioner or "clinician" in the process of assessment and diagnosis of psychopathology.

184N: Applied Introduction to Digitization

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: None

Applied Introduction to Digitization is a practical, hands-on course aimed at educating students about use cases related to the digitization of objects and spaces. Such technologies are increasingly popular in a variety of industries and are no longer for the technical elite. They offer accessible barriers to entry and can be leveraged by curious consumers. Implemented as short rotations, the course will explore two or three digitization technologies: photogrammetry, 360 virtual tours, Matterport digital twins. For each technology, pedagogy will begin with workshop-style instruction in the Tenzer Technology Center, and then students will practice their skills with real-world projects on or near campus. In order to polish and present their digitizations, students may work with other types of digital media, including, but not limited to, creating and editing audio and video stories, 3D model sharing platforms, and building websites. Only basic computer skills are assumed; neither programming nor computer science skills are required; no formal course prerequisites; students from all majors and all class levels are encouraged to enroll. This is an on-campus course with no additional fees, but we may have the opportunity to take a nearby field trip, perhaps with an overnight stay.

184P: Civic Engagement & Social Justice for Bonners

Course Time: TBD
Fees: None
Prerequisites: Only open to first-year Bonners.

In this intensive three-week course, students will delve into the intersections of civic engagement and social justice. Through a critical examination of pressing societal issues such as homelessness, food insecurity, education disparities, and poverty, students will gain a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding these topics. Students will analyze the root causes and systemic structures perpetuating these issues, while also exploring potential solutions and avenues for advocacy. Identity and place will serve as recurring themes throughout the course, prompting students to reflect on their own backgrounds, privileges, and biases, as well as how these factors intersect with larger societal structures. By the end of the course, students will emerge with a heightened sense of civic responsibility, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to actively engage in their communities and advocate for social change.