The English East India Company can be said to have been the most important company ever founded. In existence between 1600 to 1858, it ran a complex, highly integrated, and truly global trading network. It governed territories that far exceeded, in extent and population, the British Isles. It minted coins in its name, established law courts and prisons, sponsored scientific expeditions, prosecuted wars, and accounted for about 14 percent of all imports to Britain during much of the 18th century. It supplied the tea for Boston’s tea party, the saltpeter for Britain’s gunpowder industry, and the opium for China’s principal 19th-century addiction. In this course we will learn about this remarkable company’s astonishing rise, unexpected expansion, and ultimate decline.

Beyond buzzwords and technological promises lies a complex landscape of tools reshaping how we work, create, and connect. This course invites you to explore generative AI and to develop discernment for both its possibilities and problems. Through discussions and hands-on explorations, we’ll investigate 1) AI’s capabilities and limitations, 2) how AI is transforming industries, creative processes, and decision making, 3) ethical questions that arise as AI becomes more embedded in daily life, and 4) strategies for thoughtfully incorporating—or deliberately limiting—AI in your own life. No technical expertise required—this course is designed for curious minds seeking clarity amid AI hype. We’ll move past uncritical excitement and reflexive fear to develop nuanced, informed perspectives on this significant technological shift. Laptops or tablets (iPad or equivalent) required.

In this course, we will trace global democratic recession through the example of Turkey. A NATO member and EU candidate, Turkey maintained strong ties with the West during and after the Cold War. A secular republic with democratic institutions since 1950, Turkey has been held up as a model for Muslim-majority nations. Turkey’s political trajectory has changed recently with Tayyip Erdoğan’s rise to power. In successive electoral victories since 2002, Erdoğan has amassed power, subverted Turkish democracy, and become a role model for aspiring autocrats. We will explore how Erdoğan undermined Turkish democracy, why people support him despite his authoritarian leadership, and the impact he has had inside and outside Turkey. We will discuss lessons from the Turkish case for well-established democracies.

In this lecture and discussion-based course, participants will be introduced to some of the major intellectual and social issues of this period in American cultural history known as the “Harlem Renaissance” or the “New Negro Movement.” While exploring the rich visual arts of the era and through consideration of major visual and literary artists—painters, sculptors, and photographers, and writers, including Alain Locke, W.E.B. DuBois and Nella Larsen—the course probes the impetus behind and the meaning and legacy of a period in American history that saw a surge of African American artistic expressions. The course will conclude with a conversation on the literary influence of the Harlem Renaissance on James Baldwin.

Time is at once familiar and confounding. After 60 years (1.9 billion seconds) or so of existence, you know it intimately. But what is time, really? The truth is, we don’t know. The most fundamental laws of physics don’t even include time, yet time is a constant presence in our lives. In this course, we explore the history of timekeeping, from sundials and mechanical clocks to modern atomic clocks capable of accuracy down to one ten-thousandth of a billionth of a second per day. Along the way, we will discuss the science underlying clocks as well as their impact on society. Readings will include excerpts from "A Brief History of Timekeeping" by Chad Orzel.