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
2016 Yale Young Global Scholars-Singapore
SEMINAR BLUE BOOK
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YYGS-Singapore: May 30 - June 5
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
1
Human-Centered
Design
BB_1
1
Origami for the 21st
Century: The Practice
and Applications of
Paper Folding
JC_1
1
1
Power Grabs and Social
Movements in the
Middle East
Why Should We Care
about Protectionism?
Seminar Description
Why are stories important? In what way do people inform the product design process? How do you
collect high quality stories from multiple perspectives? Come explore the role of anthropology in
technology development through a dynamic introduction to ethnography, innovation, and product design.
As future global leaders and innovators, you must be able to understand and integrate multiple
perspectives prior to designing, creating, or implementing a new program or technology. Through case
studies, discussion, and interactive role play, this seminar will teach hands-on ethnography skills and
tactics that can be used within the context of humanitarian development, global health, and technology
design.
Origami, the traditional art of paper folding, has been around for the past 1,000 years. Yet, in the last 50
years alone, origami has quickly transformed from a simple recreational art to a complex discipline with
surprising applications in science and technology, from space telescopes to surgical stents. What
changed? Mathematics. In this seminar, students will be introduced to the history of origami and the
basic mathematical principles governing the art. We will revisit the integral developments in mathematics
that transformed origami into a practical, sophisticated discipline. Through technical, highly collaborative
activities, students will work with their classmates and instructor to learn how to fold basic and
intermediate-level models and structures, and gain a better appreciation of how origami can be used to
change the world.
KF_1
Arguably no region in the world has witnessed political landscapes that shift as quickly as the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA). In 2011, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia, igniting an
Arab Spring and subsequent Arab Winter that would reverberate across the world. Still, social
movements did not begin with Bouazizi. Since Western colonial enterprises in MENA and the League of
Nations mandate system that drew arbitrary borders across the region, the die has been cast. This
seminar will explore the historical background that has led to the contemporary MENA before examining
three characteristically distinct case studies of recent social movements—the Iranian Green Revolution
(2009), the Muslim Brotherhood’s coopting of Egyptian politics, and the civil rebellion that would lead to
the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis—to determine their causes and consequences. The seminar will begin
to grapple with how the Western world plans to navigate future uncertainties in the region.
CC_1
Are Americans losing too many jobs to workers in Mexico and China? Who are the winners and losers?
These are questions that workers and policymakers (and of course, trade economists) grapple with
everyday. The simple truth is that international trade is a key driver of global integration, yet is seems to
create economic winners and losers. When people face unemployment, low earnings or fierce
competition they expect governments to protect them. Protectionism is shielding a country’s domestic
industries from foreign competition. Together we will work through the economic arguments for and
against protectionism, how protectionism works through different mechanisms and the distributive
consequences of protectionism. We will examine real-life case studies of protectionist policies proposed
by Obama, and now Trump, to debunk some of the theoretical arguments for protectionism. Beyond the
economics of it all, protectionism has effects on international relations.
Seminar #
1
Seminar Name
Can Photographs be
Trusted?
1
5.4 Million People, 270
Million Metric Tons:
Exploring Singapore's
Urban Metabolism
1
Social Movements in
Authoritarian Regimes:
Case Studies of the
Women's Movement
and Gay Rights
Movement in Singapore
1
Every Great Leader’s
Secret Weapon
Seminar Code
Seminar Description
BL_2
“Pics or it didn’t happen!” When dealing with unverifiable claims, one may turn to photographic evidence
to seek the “truth”. But can photographs be trusted? With the advancement of photo-editing
technologies, an image that appears in front of you could have been manipulated multiple times, without
you realizing. But aren’t photographers considered artists too? Shouldn’t they have the liberty to be
creative with their work? Students will be introduced to different genres of photography (e.g.
documentary, photojournalism conceptual, etc.) and then critically assess controversial photographs in
history, before deciding for themselves: can photographs be trusted?
ML_1
Cities are responsible for more than 80% of the global GDP, yet they also consume nearly two-thirds of
the world's energy and produce 70% of its greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, these numbers will only
become more extreme as the urban population increases from 4 to 6 billion. In Singapore, economic
growth has led to an increase in consumption of materials of more than 90% since the 1960s, from 4
metric tons per person per year to over 50. While biologists studying metabolism focus on the chemical
transformations that sustain living organisms, industrial ecologists studying urban metabolism focus on
the flows and transformations of water, food, energy, and other materials that sustain human
settlements. As cities grow rapidly in the upcoming decades, urban metabolism may be a crucial method
for understanding the flow of resources through our cities to inform sustainable development. This
seminar will use Singapore and other global cities as a case study for understanding urban metabolism
and the implications of the ever-increasing flow of resources that travel in and out of our cities each day.
DY_1
Having been criticized for its human rights record and treatment of certain minority communities,
Singapore remains a site of complex power dynamics between the state and civil society. This course
will explore, using two case studies of the early feminist movement and the more recent gay rights
movement, how civil society actors interact and engage with state power in an authoritarian regime. In
exploring these case studies, students can critically examine the common perception of a simplistic
subordination/oppression framework in understanding civil society participation in authoritarian societies,
as well as brainstorm and evaluate effective strategies in engaging with the state and other stakeholders
to effect meaningful and sustainable social change.
RB_1
Some people have a spark that makes you listen to them, fall in love with their vision and want to be part
of it. These are the leaders. We admire them. Yet, too many as-sumptions stop us from trying to become
like them. The first mistake we often make is to think that leaders are born with their spark. This seminar
will seek to expand your understanding of leadership by inviting you to reflect on the leaders around you,
and put a name on that spark that SOME of them have: Emotional Intelligence. Whether the term
sounds familiar or completely foreign to you, join us to explore further this com-plex notion of EI, and
perhaps we will be able to answer together the big question: how do I become a great leader?
Seminar #
1
Seminar Name
Language Planning in
Africa
Seminar Code
Seminar Description
JP_1
Ever since the construction of the “nation-state” as a concept in Africa by Western colonialists, Africans
have been coerced into embracing an identity that is contextualized in un-African roots. One
consequence of this cultural erosion is that it obfuscates the role of language use in nations that cut
across tribal and ethnic lines. As a linguistic hotbed hosting approximately 2000 of the world’s
approximately 7000 languages, the African continent is mired with complexities arising from dense,
multilingual populations. In this seminar, we will dive in to problems of applied linguistics, such as (but
not limited to): language and socioeconomic status; complications of power and privilege in officializing
languages; linguistic imperialism and decolonization of the mind; and language and education. We will
also apply our knowledge to devise an outline of a language policy for one sub-Saharan African country.
1
It’s Getting HOT in
Here!!!
AG_1
1
What Makes You
Beautiful?
SS_1
1
Raising the Dead: How
to Clone a Wooly
Mammoth
MD_1
Most of us have heard about climate change — Leonardo Di Caprio’s Oscar speech, anyone? Most of
us have also heard that it's not such a big deal because it is part of Earth's natural cycle. So what's all
the fuss about? In this seminar we will learn what climate change is and review the evidence that
explains the phenomenon. Then we will examine the human habitats that are being affected the most
and the implications for these regions' economic outlook and growth. Finally, with the guidance of the
instructor, students will develop feasible and affordable risk management strategies to help these
communities mitigate the impact of global warming.
Move aside, One Direction. The real psychologists are here to tell you what makes people attracted to
one another, with real studies and empirical evidence. Did you know that the majority of people think that
those who wear red are more attractive? Or that, contrary to popular belief, people are attracted to those
who are similar to themselves? Chances are, you’ll become friends with your classmate simply by sitting
next to each other. This seminar is for anyone who wants to understand the chemistry behind the
platonic and romantic relationships in your life. Most of all, you will examine what people actually care
about in developing close relationships in communities. Get your first taste of college-level psychology
seminars – and the science behind it.
Right now, we have the technology to clone an Ice Age wooly mammoth. That’s right, you heard me. We
can actually bring an extinct species back from the dead just like Jurassic Park. In fact, we’ve already
cloned several dead species. But is that really a good idea? And how does “de-extinciton” work? In this
seminar, students will learn about the amazing scientific advances in genetics and paleontology that
have made de-extinction a possibility while evaluating the ethical and logistical problems with reversing
extinction. The next time you see a woolly mammoth, will it be in a zoo or in a museum? You decide.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
1
Big Data and Machine
Learning
LJ_1
1
Liberty and the
Freedom of Expression
YS_1
2
So You Want to Be an
Entrepreneur?
AK_1
2
Voluntourism: The Pros
and Cons of Mixing
Business with Pleasure
AG_2
Seminar Description
How does Facebook suggest friends for you with frightening accuracy, how does Amazon always seem
to know your guilty pleasures, and how did Google’s AlphaGo beat grandmaster Sedol Lee at a game
once thought too complex for computers? In this age where the deluge of data threatens to overwhelm
our ability to process it, those who know how to extract the information from the noise have the power to
retain customers, maintain information security, and even save lives. James Bond may be able to obtain
the information he needs at the click of a button, but in this class, we start from the basics and look at
how data scientists deal with the messiness of data in the real world. We then explore a variety of
techniques in machine learning, from linear regression, logistic regression and k-means clustering to
more advanced techniques like support vector machines, random forests and neural networks. We will
focus on the intuition behind these methods and get a feel for why these methods work better or worse
on different datasets – predicting standardized test results, identifying handwritten letters and
distinguishing images of different objects. Discover what data scientists really do, learn why Harvard
Business Review has called this “the sexiest job of the 21st century.”
Why should we be free to speak, even if what we say is untrue? John Stuart Mill has provided the
classic, and uplifting, defense of the freedom of expression, and his arguments resound powerfully today
for liberals of all shades. This course will examine Mill’s arguments on liberty and the freedom of
expression, and his “harm principle” in delimiting the weak boundaries of permissible discourse in a free
society. We may also examine case studies (US presidential election, Singapore’s civil liberties) and
debate on the degree to which Mill’s recommendations are realized in different societies. While this
module employs analytic and political philosophy, no prior knowledge is necessary or assumed.
Entrepreneurship takes many different forms and meanings than first thought might suggest, such as
when looking across countries, time and even industries. Consequently, an entrepreneur could be a
researcher in a lab, a businessperson in rural India, an employee within a large company, or a
technologist in the Bay Area. However, certain ideas and themes seem common in entrepreneurship,
such as innovation, risk and new venture creation. This seminar attempts to formalize these ideas of
entrepreneurship and explore the economics, psychology and circumstances that create and drive
entrepreneurs. We will engage existing theory and literature in entrepreneurship to address our voiced
notions, questions, fears, interests and dreams. The seminar will equip participants with a solid
framework to assess their entrepreneurial intent that should serve them for years to come.
Voluntourism is the idea of mixing work with play. In lieu of taking exotic vacations, students seek
meaningful experiences that will help them expand their world view. In exchange, communities in need
will gain a temporary source of man power and, sometimes, monetary resources to develop structures
and programs that will help them move forward. However, how helpful can these young volunteers —
often lacking experience and training in manual labor and culturally appropriate behavior — be to the
community? Does voluntourism truly accomplish its mission or does it only serve to spruce up resumes?
In this seminar we will explore the pros and cons of voluntourism from the perspective of the volunteers
and the hosting communities. The class will also identify the characteristics that would make such a
program truly effective. We will discuss how we have already participated in voluntourism and how we
might approach it differently in the future.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
2
Comparing Christian,
Muslim and Jewish
perspectives of a Life
Worth Living
Abstract
SS_2
2
Failure: The Other FWord
BB_2
2
The City of the Future
ML_2
2
Games of Life: A
Practical Course on
Game Theory
JC_2
2
Grey's Anatomy to
Contagion: Pop Culture
and our Healthcare
System
AC_1
Seminar Description
You might be religious; you might have sworn off religion; you might be agnostic and waiting for a
revelation. Regardless of your personal beliefs, adherents of the Abrahamic religions (that trace their
common origin to the patriarch Abraham) make up 54% of the world, or 3.6 BILLION people.
Why do people subscribe to these religions? More importantly, what aspects do observers subscribe to
in order to live their lives? We will look at three aspects of a life worth living – one that is led well
(actions), going well (circumstances) and feeling good (emotions). Each Abrahamic tradition takes a
different approach to these three aspects. In this seminar, we will have an open discussion as we take a
closer look at the claims of each religion. Come prepared with ready ears, an open mind, and questions
of all sizes.
Although we are often more quick to celebrate our successes, we've all faced (or will face) failure at
some point in our lives. Failure might not be a feeling we enjoy experiencing or repeating, but it does
play an important role, particularly within engineering. This seminar explores the failures and successes
of global humanitarian action with a focus on international development products and global health
technologies. From candid discussions about your role as a catalytic outsider to hands-on exploration of
failed technologies and interventions, this seminar will lead you outside of your comfort zone as we
grapple with not just the embarrassing reality and potential utility of failure in today's humanitarian
sphere, but also the ethical ambiguity that arises while learning from failure.
Architects, philosophers, and filmmakers have envisioned the future of cities and questioned their impact
on the human psyche since the first urban settlements began to dominate the human landscape. Unlike
the urban pioneers of the past, demographers and scientists have given us quantitative and spatial data
about the future of cities: the where and when of urban growth is no longer a mystery to be solved by
architectural theorists. The question now is how these megacities will choose to develop, and what the
global impact of their decisions will be. This seminar will begin with highlights of historical futuristic urban
projections from architects and pop culture followed by an overview of the contemporary scientific
understanding of the location, size, and unique challenges for the fastest growing cities of the future.
We play “games” all the time, through our daily interactions with our family, teachers, friends, and
enemies. In this seminar, you will be formally introduced to game theory, an intersection of mathematics
and economics that studies interactions between self-interested parties. We shall learn how to model
and analyze our everyday interactions to make ourselves cognizant of the many games we
unconsciously play in our daily lives. Through interactive games with students and the instructor,
participants in this seminar will learn how to describe real-life encounters as games and develop
strategies to maximize their own benefits. In the process, students will also be exposed to famous
applications of game theory in business, diplomacy, biology, and psychology, and discover the power of
game theory in explaining the world we live in. By the end of this seminar, students will be equipped to
identify everyday games and to become better players in life.
Grey's Anatomy, ER, House, Dr. 90201, General Hospital, Scrubs, Ben Casey . . . With the onslaught of
medical TV dramas, viewers have no shortage to choose from. The TV doctor and his/her potential
image have been studied in depth for the past decade. TV often mirrors the ever-changing status of the
doctor and draws parallels from the realities of the medical profession. This seminar raises the question
of the ethics of providing accurate medical information on TV shows, as well as how media has
influenced the image of the doctor and their changing relationship with the patient.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
2
Marx and the 1918
Russian Revolution
YS_2
2
Privilege, Power, and
the Environment: Do
We All Deserve Clean
Water?
AM_1
2
Foreign Workers x
Singapore Law
BL_1
2
The Origin of Birds and
the Fate of the Terrible
Lizards
MD_2
Seminar Description
What is ‘communism’, and how did it come to define the half-century of the Cold War (1945–1991)?
What is the workers’ ‘utopia’ that was promised, and was it ever realised in Soviet Russia? By reading
excerpts from Marx’s original work, and a brief examination of Russian history, we will seek to capture
the essence of Marxist thought, its intellectual appeal, and its attempted implementation in Leninist and
Stalinist Russia. We may also discuss the practical discontinuities between Marxist theory and actual
implementation. While this module employs political philosophy and economics, no prior knowledge is
necessary or assumed.
On April 25, 2014 the city of Flint, Michigan switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River.
On September 25, 2015 a public health emergency was declared for the city following a research study
that found alarmingly high levels of lead in Flint children. Throughout this time period, a series of
missteps, abuses of power, and careless regard for environmental quality disproportionately impacted
the health and livelihood of this impoverished Metro Detroit region. In this seminar, students will learn
the importance of recognize privilege and power dynamics and differences through addressing the
following questions: What are privilege and power? How do issues of the environment play into this
understanding to disproportionately impact disenfranchised communities? And how do we combat this?
Students will leave this seminar with a greater understanding of how privilege, power, and the
environment interact to shape the world that we live in today and the resources we have (and don't
have) access to.
In Singapore, foreign construction workers could potentially earn more money by moonlighting in illegal
work employments, than in legal work establishments. How does this impact the labor market and what
does this suggest about the authority of the legal system? In this seminar, students will learn about the
role that the Singapore law plays in the lives of construction workers who have travelled thousands of
miles from Bangladesh, China, etc., to earn a living in this little red dot. Students will also critically
evaluate the current human rights policies in place to protect the rights of these workers and be
introduced to the advocacy work that local NGOs spearhead. This seminar will also explore how
globalization affects the demand of foreign workers and discuss the socio-political effects it has on
different countries around the world. Insights on employer-employee relationships in the industry will
also be shared. Eventually, students will examine the effectiveness of the Singapore legal system in
protecting migrant workers and whether or not it ensures social justice.
Did dinosaurs really go extinct 65 million years ago when a giant asteroid hit the Earth? ….or are they
still living among us, hiding in plain sight? In this seminar, students will work together, using real data, to
figure out where birds came from and answer some of the deepest questions in evolutionary biology like:
Were dinosaurs really terrible lizards? How can you read an evolutionary tree? How do you weigh a bird
that doesn’t exist? What came first, the chicken or the egg? And what did dinosaurs taste like?
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
2
How Universal Are
Human Rights In a
Globalized World?
DY_2
2
Popular Science Writing
LJ_2
2
The Dark World of
White “Gold”—An
Exploration of the
World’s Illegal Ivory
Trade
II_1
Seminar Description
"Asian values" have been touted as a defense by certain Asian countries against recognizing various
human rights provisions, and human rights have been criticized as an instrument of neo-imperialism by
Western states to impose their cultural norms and values on other societies. This course will explore,
with reference to United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the ASEAN Human Rights Charter,
how universal these rights are by considering the history and politics behind this document as well as
the complexities with international law. Also, students will be introduced to concepts of ethnocentrism
and cultural relativism in examining how human rights can be understood cross-culturally. Ultimately, this
course aims to answer the question of how we can meaningfully challenge and critique the existing
rights-based framework to establish a new paradigm in the discourse of improving people's quality of life
globally.
‘Why is so much writing so bad?’ asks New York Times best-selling author and neuroscientist Steven
Pinker. As scientific innovation marches on, tunneling through quantum walls and breaking down the
barriers between brain and machine, it’s hard to shake off the feeling that we non-experts are falling
further and further behind. The daunting, jargon-filled tomes that scientists put out certainly don’t help.
Worryingly, most people have but the vaguest idea of how the latest technologies work, their promise
and their perils. Gene editing technology offers hope for patients with debilitating illnesses, but might
they threaten the future of the human race? The wonders of the cloud has made it possible to access
our documents wherever we are, but how secure are we really from technology failure and
cyberattacks? That’s where popular science writers come in, distilling mind-boggling concepts and
intricate systems into intuitive ideas that people can piece together. In this seminar, we will start with
fundamental writing principles and see how they shine through in writing across a range works. We will
look at excerpts drawn from The Origin of Species – Darwin’s elegant masterpiece – the books of
contemporary writers like Carl Zimmer and also articles from popular science magazines like Scientific
American. Whether you are an aspiring scientist or a student with a curiosity about the natural world,
you will come out of this class with a better appreciation of the sciences and a greater capacity to
communicate with others about the issues that matter today.
Could there be a link between the ivory trinkets sold in souvenir shops and extremist groups in subSaharan Africa? In this seminar, we aim to explore the trade in illegal wildlife products with a special
emphasis on the illegal ivory trade. With such growing concern for the ecological impact of rampant
poaching of rhinos and elephants, this industry has also proven vital in the financial sustenance of
extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Al-Shabaab. We shall investigate the current local and
international policy in the countries affected and how it influences the ability of militant groups to use
ivory as a revenue source. Furthermore, these policies will be contextualized in relation to other global
efforts to subdue such violent terrorist groups. The seminar will also address the underlying political and
social factors that have helped sustain this industry and what is being done to stop it with case studies
from East, West and Southern Africa.
Seminar #
2
Seminar Name
Measuring Poverty in a
Growing World
Seminar Code
Seminar Description
CC_2
Although there is a fair amount of data and statistics that convey information about the global landscape
of poverty, can we trust it fully? There is a need to critically examine the methods used to measure
poverty in order to target the neediest populations and prevent unnecessary exclusions and inclusions
into poverty alleviation programs. This course is designed to be an introduction to understanding
definitions of poverty and different ways to measure the extent of poverty. We begin by investigating
methods used by key actors: governments, the World Bank and NGOs. Next, we will venture further that
to discuss how poverty is a multidimensional concept that cannot be fully captured in these definitions,
and how much these definitions are theoretically justified or whether they are politically applied.
3
Designing a Fit-Bit for
Carbon Counting
ML_3
3
Politicizing Art: Ai
Weiwei's Quiet
Revolution in China
KF_2
This seminar will be highly interactive and challenge students to act as entrepreneurs to re-envision our
personal relationship with carbon consumption. Technology has made tracking our daily lives more
popular than ever: Fit bit sales continue to skyrocket, increasing 250% in 2015 alone, and food calorie
counts haunt the menus of New York City and an increasing number of cities across the United States.
As the popularity of tracking quantitative data on our food and exercise habits grows, per capita carbon
consumption is also steadily climbing. Can a quantitative, competitive medium of understanding of our
impact through individual carbon counting motivate the lifestyle changes needed to save the
environment? In this seminar, teams will use their creativity and personal experience to design unique
solutions to the crisis of climate change. An overview of basic concepts of carbon counting and the
typical sources of daily carbon consumption will be provided to inform students' designs.
When he helped design the Bird’s Nest for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, he was a rising
start in the Chinese art scene. Then, he made an attention-grabbing installation criticizing the
government’s response to the Sichuan earthquake that same year. Ai Weiwei’s challenges to the
government have only gotten more pronounced since them, setting him on a path to clash with authority
in the country. He has been arrested and beaten. Yet, he continues to produce relevant social critiques.
Meanwhile, since taking office, President Xi Jinping has effected widespread changes (most notably his
anti-corruptions efforts), and yet, analysts claim there is still far to go. With the restrictive residential
registration system (hukou) still in place; with surplus saving and little social safety net; and with the
country grappling with a large population of minorities agitating for greater enfranchisement—how will
China deal with the future? Is its current trajectory sustainable in the long run? This seminar will locate
Ai Weiwei’s social critique in the tradition of politicized art—from Simon & Garfunkel in the U.S. to the
anonymous street art of the anonymous Princess Hijab in France. Students will grapple with the place of
art in pushing for justice in society.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
3
What is Gender?
DY_3
3
Can We All Fit? Human
Population Growth in
the Anthropocene
AM_2
3
Fuel from the Sun: The
Promise of Artificial
Photosynthesis
MD_3
3
Bioethics - A
Comparative Approach
LJ_3
Seminar Description
In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir famously said "One is not born, but rather becomes, a
woman". What is gender, how does one "become" a man or woman and is our it biological, socially
constructed or a mix of both? How then do we account for other gender identities, such as intersex,
gender-queer or gender-fluid? This class aims to bring students on a journey through some of the ideas
and theories developed around gender using a multi-disciplinary approach, by examining how medicine,
psychiatry, evolutionary biology, sociology and queer theory have understood and critiqued the idea of
gender. Students will also be invited to share their personal experiences and reflections on the role
gender has played and continues to play in their lives to examine the interaction between the personal
and the political, as radical feminist Carol Hanisch argued in her seminal paper titled "The Personal Is
Political". Ultimately, this class will seek to better understand this part of the human identity which
significantly affects our lives yet may be more nebulous and complex than male/female.
Since the Industrial Revolution human population growth has increased exponentially, impacting the
availability of resources, environmental quality, and global social structure. Although in many regions of
the world population growth has slowed, Earth's population is expected to reach over 9.5 billion by 2050.
As populations continue to grow and approach the limit that the surrounding environment can sustain,
the question of how to best manage consequences becomes increasingly important. Here we will ask:
What does it mean to be the "dominant" species? Do we have a responsibility to protect the natural
environment? What is the best way to reduce the impact of human population growth? Through these
questions, students will come to grapple with the moral, social, and environmental implications of human
population growth.
To conquer global warming and provide enough energy for our planet, we need a paradigm shift in how
we generate fuel. Could artificial photosynthesis be the answer? Artificial photosynthesis seeks to do
what plants do, turn sunlight into clean fuel. In this case the fuel is hydrogen that we can use to power
fuel cells on everything from cars to houses. Students in this seminar will work together to understand
the different ways we can get energy from the sun and if artificial photosynthesis could be a solution to
our energy problems.
From organ transplant to embryonic stem cell therapy and now to gene editing, biomedicine has made
huge strides. Is it right for a mentally-incompetent person to donate a kidney to his stricken brother?
What is the legal status of embryos? And what should we make of powerful genetic tools that promise to
cure devastating diseases even as they threaten to dramatically alter the path of human evolution?
By examining case studies that highlight the thorny ethical issues underlying these questions, we will
look at how different societies are grappling with these issues, with an emphasis on the approaches the
U.S. and Singapore are pursuing. In this Century of Biology, an understanding of the wave of progress
sweeping through the field and an appreciation of the ethical issues that challenge us is indispensable to
a 21st-century education.
Seminar #
3
3
Seminar Name
The ‘Political’ Hijab: A
Nexus of Religion,
Culture and Politics
Kendrick, et al.: Critical
Cultural Expression
Seminar Code
Seminar Description
II_2
What can we tell about a society from analyzing a single cultural artefact? As a community and society
changes, how does its cultural symbolism change with it? This seminar focuses on the Hijab as one
such artefact and begins with a case study of Algeria in the middle of the 20th century. It was in a
continuous state of flux. A movement for independence from French colonial rule was growing and
support for it took many forms. The hijab evolved into as a symbol of resistance. The personal choice of
a woman to wear a hijab, and the societal meaning placed on it underwent drastic shifts as the
resistance wore on. It had a strong impact on illustrating the interdependence between political, social
and religious factors at work during periods of societal evolution. What might have been a ubiquitous
and presupposed cultural artefact could become a site for contestation in a political revolution. From this
launching off point, this seminar will further this exploration by looking at how the hijab evolved in a
variety of other contexts and historical moments across the Middle East. We will also see how it is
currently viewed among Muslim communities in the west.
JP_2
In an age of entertainment history that facilitates and encourages the commercial-cultural tradeoff,
several discourses of “selling-out” and being “pimped by the industry” have arisen in the rap and hip-hop
communities. Drawing on the works of artists such as The Furious Five, Mos Def, Nas, Kendrick Lamar,
and Kanye West for lyrical analysis, this seminar will explore the crossroads of fame, integrity, and selfexpression in order to grapple with what it means to be a culturally expressive artist in the rap industry.
3
A Matter of Equality:
Controversial
Inheritance Laws & A
Glimpse Of Women’s
Status In North Africa
RB_2
3
Political Theatre:
Enacting Social Change
from the Stage
AC_2
“The last thing you need when you are mourning the death of your parents is a reminder of your
inferiority in a society that claims to care about your rights as a woman.” - These are the cries of
thousands of women in North Africa every year who are faced with their country’s inheritance laws: For
every share that the brother gets, the sister gets half. For religious leaders, the matter has been settled.
For politicians, this debate is taboo. Yet, the rights that Tunisian women and their neighbors have
acquired over the past genera-tions set the expectation that women’s status in North Africa would be
raised. Through the lens of some silenced controversial topics, inheritance laws being one of them, this
seminar will dive into the lives of North African and other Arab women to better under-stand the status
they hold in their respective societies and identify the obstacles prevent-ing these women from acquiring
the same rights enjoyed by the opposite gender.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Bertolt Brecht. How can art
be a force for social change? To what extent can theatre expose the issues of our society and hold
governments, leaders, and communities accountable? This seminar aims to explore some seminal
figures in the political theatre: Bertolt Brecht, Tadeusz Kantor, Augusto Boal, Sarah Kane, and Guillermo
Calderón. The course will explore the theories behind many of these great directors/writers work, such
as the alienation effect, Theatre of Death/Memory, In-yer-face Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed. In
addition to discussing these theatrical practices, students will be given the tools to create a unique oneact performance piece on a social issue of their choosing. The aim of this course will be to give students
the necessary tools to engage in “beautiful trouble” on the stage and produce art that contains effective
and communicable political intent.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
3
Aristotle and Regime
Theory
YS_3
3
Innovation in Global
Health Biotechnology
BB_3
3
Seeing the World in 0s
and 1s
AK_2
3
Grand Strategy in
Southeast Asia
SS_3
Seminar Description
What makes a good regime? What rule do we live under, and what are its characteristics? Why is man
the zoan politikon, or ‘political animal’? Aristotle has been known simply as ‘The Philosopher’, a
testament to his enduring importance in the philosophical tradition. This course examines Aristotle’s
typology of regimes on the rule of the one, the few, the many, and his considerations of the particular
strengths and weaknesses of each regime. In particular, we will consider Aristotle’s unimpressed view of
democracy and how they might challenge our beliefs (if at all) of democracy as a normative good. While
module employs political philosophy, no prior knowledge is necessary or assumed.
For those who hate needles, the heart palpitations and excessive sweating you get at a doctor's
appointment are all too familiar: we live in an age of vaccines! In fact, by the time most infants can
speak, they have already received nine vaccines. However, today's small prick of a needle pales in
comparison to previous methods of vaccination. In this seminar, we will explore how treatment and
vaccine components, synthesis, and delivery methods have evolved over the past century using case
studies of smallpox and polio. We will then discuss the cultural, social, and technological challenges of
current biotechnology efforts to eliminate global infectious diseases and, using this multidisciplinary
knowledge, teams will design an individualized vaccine or treatment campaign for a country currently
fighting endemic infectious disease transmission.
You’ve probably heard about the love that computer science has for 0s and 1s, but have you ever
wondered exactly what they’re about? Why did early computer scientists do everything in 0 and 1 and
still manage to do basic math and writing? And how do machines literally only understand these two
numbers and do everything they do, from complex calculations to word and image processing, to
running the entire internet? What does it even mean for a computer to understand only 0s and 1s? This
seminar will answer all these questions and more, and teach students to understand 0s and 1s pretty
much like the people in The Matrix. We will start at the germination of the idea of 0s and 1s and rebuild
the history of computing and computer logic in order to understand how modern digital technology
became what it is today. A basic math background is recommended - in particular, the ability to count to
1.
Southeast Asia (SEA) is a hot mess, in terms of bilateral and multilateral networks and security
alliances. It has perilous flashpoints like the widely-contested South China Sea, which has stirred
tensions between many Southeast Asian countries and China. The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) is caught between two great world powers: the U.S., and China. But by adopting the
“ASEAN Way,” countries are bound by the norms of consensus and non-proliferation – even in the great
test of cooperation and conflict, the South China Sea. Should ASEAN countries like Singapore and the
Philippines continue their bilateral relations with the U.S., given its recent ‘pivot’ to Asia, and can ASEAN
allow the great emerging Chinese force its extensive regional claims over maritime waters and land
without disrupting harmony in the region? Find out more, and learn to think like a Grand Strategist or
Game Theorist in this model-UN-style class.
Seminar #
3
Seminar Name
Reflections Across the
Pacific: A Specter of
Comparisons Across
Asia and South America
Seminar Code
Seminar Description
JC_3
Asia and South America are located on opposite sides of the world. Separated by the wide Pacific
Ocean, they seem to have little in common with each other. However, these two regions offer a rich,
unexplored field of study for the student keen in comparative studies. In this seminar, we are going to
unravel several the surprising similarities and connections between these regions. We shall investigate
the first direct contact between these two regions through the Philippines and Mexico’s Manila-Acapulco
Galleon Trade. We will explore the various effects of this trade route, from instigating Chinese and
Southeast Asian migrations to the Americas, to the introduction of tobacco and cigarettes in Asia. We will
look at how the Latin American Revolutions fueled the earliest independence movements in Southeast
Asia. Finally, we shall look at specific countries for comparison, such as Singapore and Suriname, Cuba
and Vietnam, and others, to appreciate the power of comparisons in better understanding and
interpreting the world we live in.
4
From Dicaprio to
Descartes: What If It
Was All Just A Dream?
RB_3
4
An Infographic is Worth
a Thousand Words:
How to Visually
Communicate Data
Effectively
MD_4
4
Neurocriminology:
Fighting Crime and
Violence with Biology
BL_3
“Well dreams, they feel real while we’re in them, right? It’s only when we wake up that we realize that
something was actually strange…you never really remember the begin-ning of a dream, do you?” says
Leonardo DiCaprio to Ellen Page as they are sitting in a nice Café. Well, he is quite right, isn’t he? Do
you know that you are dreaming when you are within a dream? How do you know you are not dreaming
at this very moment? Important questions to ask, and Descartes seems to have a say about your
dreams. If you are interested in checking whether what is around you is real, and ready to have this
important Cartesian conversation, join us for this exciting seminar that will intro-duce you to Descartes’s
famous theory of radical doubt and help you see a few mind blowing aspects of this theory that led it to
become a movie.
What has more salt in it, a McDonalds milkshake or French fries? Is it really hotter today than it was in
the past? How much is a billion …of anything? Data hold the answers to these and many other
questions but for anybody to understand this raw data, they have to be displayed as graphs,
infographics, or pictures. In this hands on seminar, students will learn the basics of how to effectively tell
a story with pictures and graphs. We’ll explore several different graph and data types and how to use
things like symbols and colors to clearly communicate data. We’ll talk about why people lie with graphs
(mostly because they are stupid, sometimes because they are smart) and how to spot good and not so
good data visualizations. This class should be useful to anyone who will ever have to write a report, read
a newspaper, or surf the internet.
Scientific research has shown that there is no question that genetic influences play a very significant role
in shaping crime and violence. However, there exists a fair amount of antagonism towards this biological
approach of ascertaining the motivations of crime. Social scientists would argue that there are
environmental reasons leading an individual becoming a psychopath and these factors should not be
undermined. In this seminar, students will explore arguments on both sides of the coin, while learning
about basic theories of Neurocriminology. Students will also examine and debunk myths set up by pop
psychology claims, especially those that use superficial traits and conduct to ascertain if one is a
psychopath.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
4
Refugee Narratives:
The Politics of Exile
KF_3
4
LifeHacks: Elementary
Economic Tools for
Making Better
Economic Decisions
AK_3
4
A Romp through
Neurolinguistics, Disconnectionism and the
Impaired Brain
JP_4
Seminar Description
Refugees currently number 20.2 million—aggregated together, they would make up the 59th largest
country in the world. The Syrian refugee crisis, which seems to have no end in sight, is only the largest
exodus in a long trend of unprecedented refugee migration—from those fleeing Bosnia in the 1990s to
the Rwandan genocide to the Vietnam War. A growing number of refugees live in protracted situations,
choosing to integrated into their host countries rather than return to their countries of origin (if they even
have the opportunity to do so). Still, granting refugees asylum or temporary protection is not the same as
allowing them the benefits of full citizenship within a host state; there are Palestinian refugees in Jordan
who were born in and have never ventured outside their refugee camps. With the European Union (EU)
offering Turkey financial assistance to help control the volume of Syrians who make the dangerous boat
crossing to Europe to Donald Trump’s polemic railings against allowing Syrians into U.S. borders, it is
clear refugees are far from welcome. Using the Syrian refugee crisis as a critical lens, this seminar will
try to tease out the unique position of refugees—before the rupture that drove them out of their countries
of origin, through their exoduses, and toward the prospects for their integration into host societies. This
seminar will also consider those who are left out of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) definition of refugees: climate change migrants, economic migrants, and internally displaced
persons.
Ever wondered how much money an hour of your time is worth? Or how to decide between many
options and choices, especially if you can’t put a price on them? Or what to do with your money once
you start earning some? Or when you should start borrowing money and how much to borrow? This
seminar will explore three foundational concepts of microeconomics from the lens of personal economic
principles that are crucial for anyone looking to understand economics, or make good economic
decisions. The seminar aims to build an intuition for these concepts, so that they become part of
participants’ natural decision making system as they apply them to a wide variety of life scenarios – how
much college to attend, what size of beverage to buy, which profession to pick, how much to pay for a
product or service, and how to compare choices in a consistent and logical way.
Neurolinguistics is an exciting branch of experimental linguistics that bridges concepts from cognitive
neurology, functional neuroimaging, theoretical linguistics, and psychology (among others) to produce a
fresh way of looking at how the brain does language. The discipline also provides methods by which to
diagnose and study patients diagnosed with language-impairing diseases, disorders and syndromes,
such as Broca’s Aphasia, Wernicke’s Aphasia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. In
this seminar, participants will learn about the various ways that linguistic theory (e.g. transformational
grammar, semantics, and optimality theory) informs research methods involving the impaired brain. In
addition, participants will learn to extrapolate functionality in healthy subject brains on the basis of the
impaired case.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
4
Build Me a New Heart
LJ_4
4
Rwanda, Haiti, and
Ebola: Failures of
Medical
Humanitarianism
AC_3
4
From Hutongs to
Highrises: A Survey of
Chinese Architecture
ML_4
Seminar Description
In 2011, surgeon Anthony Atala 3D-printed a rough prototype of a human kidney on-stage before a TEDx
talk audience and immediately set off a wave of excitement about engineering body parts customized
just for individual patients. For the thousands of patients enduring harsh immunosuppressant treatment
so their bodies don’t reject the organs they have been given and for the many more languishing on
organ transplant waitlists, tissue engineering offers a new lease of life. Scientists have made huge steps
and Yale researchers are the forefront of the field. Laura Niklason, for instance, is pioneering work to
build lungs using decellularized tissue matrices, while other researchers are engineering blood vessels
and heart tissues. All tissues are made different and there are multiple approaches to building the
different types of tissues. This course will introduce how scientists induce the differential expression of
the genetic code to form the wide variety of cell types that make up our body, and how they coax these
cells to organize into the distinct patterns that define entire tissues and organs. We will address the
current limitations of regenerative medicine and discuss how advances in tissue engineering promise to
reshape the field.
“Humanitarianism is emblematic of failure”--Dr. Unni Karunakara former international president of MSF.
This seminar aims to explore the ethical dilemmas inherent in the humanitarian actors’ work. The course
will focus on three specific case studies and will dive into answering some of the most pressing
questions that current humanitarian organizations face, such as whether or not humanitarianism
prolongs armed conflict, whether short-term humanitarian intervention is better than long term
development, as well as how ethnographic studies can contribute to humanitarians understanding of
how to better incorporate local communities in administering ethical and effective aid in conflict zones.
Students will have a chance to develop skills in analyzing critical studies detailing the successes and
failures of specific humanitarian organizations involved in the Rwandan, Haiti, and Ebola crises.
China has been an important driver of architectural innovation throughout its existence. From 600 to the
late 1800s, Chinese cities dominated the rankings as the largest cities in the world, and the traditional
urban forms developed in Beijing and other ancient Chinese cities are still existing and relevant today. In
contrast to the complex forms and structures of traditional Chinese architecture, the contemporary urban
landscape is dominated by towering skyscrapers and colossal, flashy buildings designed by foreign
"starchitects," resulting in President Xi Jinping's call for the end to "weird architecture" in Chinese cities.
This seminar will briefly trace the history of Chinese architecture from ancient to the present to provide
context for the contemporary transformation of the Chinese landscape into today's megacities. Students
will be encouraged to consider the implications of the transformation of the built environment on the
lifestyle and culture of Chinese cities.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
4
Money, Markets and the
Power of
Institutions—How Did
We Get This “Global
Economy”?
4
Life in a Secular Age
CC_3
4
Human-Wildlife Conflict
AM_3
4
Humanitarian
Development
Engineering
BB_4
II_3
Seminar Description
From the 2008 financial crisis, Global Occupy Movement and China’s currency manipulation, the world
constantly feels the ripples of economic forces at work that permeates all spheres of our lives. Ever
wondered what economic historical developments led us here? And how did the concept of money as
the most basic unit of exchange change over the 19th, 20th and into the 21st century? This seminar
seeks to answer all these questions in partially simplifying the complexities of the “global economy.”
What was once based on physical commodities and their worth becomes detached and abstracted. In
our analysis, we will see the underlying theme tying the growth of a variety of economic institutions
together (such as the IMF and transnational financial markets). Furthermore, the influence of such
institutions will be illustrated with reference to current affairs as well as the popular film “The Big Short.”
The seminar engages participants in discussing the positive and detrimental impact of such economic
models used today with a focus on the conceptual rather than quantitative elements of economics and
economic theory. No background in economics is required.
What does it mean to say we live in a secular age? The place of religion in Western societies has
changed profoundly in the last century. Secularism, rather than being characterized by the absence of
religion, refers to the multiplicity of new options – religious, spiritual, philosophical, anti-religious – which
individuals and groups seize to make sense of their lives and give rise to their aspirations. The marked
decline in religious beliefs and practices in many Western societies is a trend that is observed alongside
a growing presence of religious plurality. How have secular regimes provided space for religious
traditions? What ways of being and living does secularism permit or prohibit? Does secularism
guarantee state neutrality toward diverse religious traditions? These are important questions to address
in the societies that we live in. To answer some of these questions, we will use the case study of the
French laïcité to illustrate the practical aspects of life under a secularist regime.
As natural landscapes are converted into urban, suburban, and other habitable spaces for human use,
incidences of interaction and conflict with wildlife become increasingly common. In India, cattle and other
livestock are lost to tigers and leopards; in the southeast, urban development has led to a drastic decline
in Florida panther populations; in east Africa the threat of crocodiles and other large animals is a nearly
constant threat. Although these examples are global in scale, the human populations that experience the
most conflict with wildlife are clearly differentiated: vulnerable populations in rural and/or developing
regions. Within this seminar we will address three foundational questions: What is human-wildlife
conflict? Where does it happen? And what can we do? From here, students will attempt to develop
solutions to human-wildlife conflict while recognizing that humans, though dominant, are only one of 8
million species vying for survival.
Globally, more than 780 million people do not have clean water and more than 2.6 billion people-two
fifths of the world's population-lack access to improved sanitation. This course emphasizes the role that
engineers play in humanitarian interventions and international development by introducing participants
to the technical and non-technical components of technology implementation in low resource settings.
Participants will discuss civil and environmental humanitarian technologies that target water, sanitation,
and hygiene (WASH) and learn how to move from concept to design to implementation with an
emphasis on technologies and intervention strategies that ensure long-term sustainability. Be prepared
to get splashed as we dive hands-on into planning, building, and evaluating water filters, pumps, and
catchment systems!
Seminar #
4
Seminar Name
When the Dead Talk!
Seminar Code
AG_3
5
The Psychology of
Comedy
BL_4
5
Social Change Through
Film & Media
DY_4
5
Genetically Modified
Earth: Does All-Natural
Still Exist?
AM_4
Seminar Description
How much can a dead person tell you? Hopefully, not much. How much can you tell from a dead
person? A lot! Human bones can tell stories that would otherwise be lost to history. But
bioarchaeologists are increasingly under pressure from demands to let past generations rest in peace.
In this seminar, we will put on our Bioarcheologist caps and learn how skeletal remains differ across
ethnic and age groups. Then we'll learn how to determine the race, age, and sex of a person using only
their skeletal remains. Throughout our practical learning session we will debate: When does the
scientific pursuit to understand our past become plain grave robbing? How did the ancient cultures that
we now explore think about the excavation of their dead? How do we reconcile those views today?
Imagine the day when all the comedians in the world become doctors… Laughter will then truly be the
best medicine. But before that day comes, have you every thought about the mechanics behind why you
laugh? Why is something laughable and why do different people laugh at different things? Join this
seminar to find out about the different schools of thought behind humor and comedy, as well as to
investigate the motivations of professional comedians! While the topic of comedy could be light-hearted,
this seminar will seriously explore the psychology of comedians who suffer from mental illnesses such
as depression. Students will dwell into the relationship between self-deprecating humor content and
depression states that are developed thereafter. Thereafter, this seminar will examine the social stigma
that is associated with depression and how depressed comedians are dealing with it. Overall, students
can expect to engage critically with the concept of comedy and explore the role of comedy in modern
society.
This course will make use of multimedia content including clips from television shows such as Orange is
the New Black, Glee and Zootopia to explore how pop culture and the media can be effectively utilized
to convey meaningful social justice messaging to educate younger audiences on issues around race,
class, gender, sexuality and others. Students will also be given the opportunity to craft a 3-minute short
performance in any form to convey a specific social justice message, based on the effective strategies
discussed from the required readings. This course will be useful for students interested in social justice
advocacy and media studies.
Genetically modified organisms or GMOs are those whose genetic material has been altered using
genetic engineering techniques. From agricultural crops to animals genetically altered for research
purposes, GMOs are becoming an increasingly common component of environmental and social
systems. However, their use has been at the center of contentious debates and controversy concerning
their safety and regulation. What are the health implications of GMO crops? How much genetic
modification is too much? Are GMOs already the new normal? In this seminar, students will understand
how GMOs are produced, what the consequences of their use are, and develop comprehensive plans
for their regulation.
Seminar #
5
Seminar Name
“Mother” of Nature: An
Exploration of a Life
Dedicated to
Environmental Justice
Seminar Code
Seminar Description
II_4
Awarded a Nobel peace prize in 2004 for her work in sustainable development, democracy and peace,
Dr. Wangaari Maathai (the first African woman to do so) is a pinnacle of resilience in the pursuit of
environmental justice. In this highly interactive seminar, her biography and activist career is explored to
inform the tangible takeaways that can still be applied today—years after her passing. There is a strong
role playing and participation element to this seminar where the participants will be expected to
strategize and draw a course of action based on scenarios similar to what she faced in her activism
while in Kenya and globally. Beyond the historical understanding of how she made great strides in the
growth of environmental conservation particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, her life story offers an
invigorating lens into working within and outside of the “system” to bring about meaningful change.
Participants will also be asked to reflect on their own experience observing, experiencing or being a part
of any kind of activism and to use the lessons learnt from this seminar to evaluate their own efficacy.
5
Rationality 101:
Identifying Hidden
Weaknesses in Thinking
and Decision Making
AK_4
5
Non-Violent Movements
CC_4
5
The Game is Afoot! Applying Sherlock
Holmes' Powers of
Observation to
Misleading Statistics.
AG_4
Judges are up to 5 times more likely to grant parole to someone after lunch than at the end of a long
day. Doctors make different life and death decisions on exactly the same facts based on problem
phrasing. Planners systematically mistake the duration of project completion (remember all the times
you would have done better if you just had one more day?). More generally, there are some trappings in
human thinking that hinder us from making fair, consistent and smart decisions – rational decisions. This
seminar discusses the psychological origins of our trappings, explores what kind of decisions humans
are systematically bad at making, and how an individual can go about identifying these trappings and
correcting them. We introduce some of the fundamental principles of rational thinking, and how we can
go about building on them to make better decisions at a personal level. Finally, we discuss what our
failures of rationality mean for society, and the policy implications and considerations arising from our
limited rationality.
The 20th century was the bloodiest century in history, yet it also gave rise to many of the most
successful non-violent protest movements. From the hippie subculture of the 70s, to iconic leaders such
as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, many continue to be proponents of non-violence being
the most powerful way to enact change. This seminar’s exploration of non-violence movements will pay
attention to two sources: firstly, we aim to trace the origins of power within non-violent movements; and
second, we will evaluate how non-violent movements speak to the traditional “Just War” theory which
continues to influence the international law governing warfare. Finally, we will analyze the successes
and failures of these movements as they were enacted in different contexts.
Misleading statistics are ubiquitous — you can find them in news coverage, consumer advertising, and
even in academia. In this seminar we will learn how to apply Sherlock Holmes' pillars of problem solving
— observation, induction, and fact-checking — to become savvy consumers of statistics, able to
discriminate between phony claims and evidence-based ones. Some of the factors we will consider are
sampling methods, style and phrasing of survey questions, qualifiers used to interpret statistics, and the
framing of the final ad campaign or product. Students will learn how to be astute interpreters, as well as
producers, of statistical claims.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
5
Kill That Stereotype:
What You Absolutely
Need To Know About
The African Continent
RB_4
5
Improvisation for the
Activist: Politicizing
Comedy
AC_4
5
Globalizing Feminism
through Pop Culture
KF_4
5
Anchors Away: An
Introduction to the
International Maritime
Industry
JC_4
Seminar Description
This is a time in your life where you get to question and reflect about all these (silly) ste-reotypes you
ever heard about Africa. From the basic lions-as-pets, forever-starving-children, and do you speak
Afrikaans”, to the actual conflicts happening in the different African regions, the origin of the slave trade,
and what’s up with North Africa. If you want to expand your knowledge of Africa, join us for 90 minutes
that will change your perception of the continent.Trust me, you will have something to say the next time
you hear someone saying “I want to go to Africa.”
“Laughter is the antidote to the tyranny of anger that I feel.” Yvonne Rainer. What does it take to make a
successful political sketch? How do we engage a society politically via comedy? Is laughter an antidote
for the social issues we face or is it simply pop culture’s answer to engendering a collective
amnesia/escapism of the deplorable state of our global society? This seminar aims to not only engage in
the creative aspects of making political sketches and improvisation, but also to unravel the ethical
implications that many current comedians now face in their line of work. The seminar will traverse the
history of comedic performance from its inception with commedia dell’arte to the current SNL sketch.
Students will have a chance to make their political sketches in class and present them in front of their
peers. As a class, we will explore how to be effective public speakers/performers, and how to convey
political/creative intent in our work.
Beyoncé wowed the world when she dropped her new track “Formation,” with critics quickly hailing it as
a new anthem for fourth-wave feminism. Since Western women first began agitating collectively for
suffrage rights in the 1920 to the political charged 1960s, when feminism began to grapple with sexual
orientation, gender markers, and broader social movements like the anti-Vietnam War protests in the
U.S., feminism has continued to strain for greater inclusivity. Though the legacy of the earlier
movements influence thought today, contemporary advocacy has largely focused on intersectionality, or
how to enfranchise women from different segments of society around the world. As we consider
feminism in a global context, we also celebrate the contributions and try to move past the hindrances to
feminism that modern pop culture poses. How has Beyoncé’s brand of feminism been useful for
advancing the cause? Conversely, how has pop culture solidified specific ways of being “feminine”
deemed acceptable to society in a way that excludes others? How can we move toward a more
integrative and inclusive feminism? This seminar will provide a brief history of the critical theory behind
the four waves of feminism and analyze contemporary pop culture’s contributions to equality.
Unbeknown to many, the international maritime industry alone accounts for 90% of the world’s trade.
Most of our goods, from television sets, to iPhones, to frozen salmon, to shoes, to IKEA table sets, to the
very device you are reading this seminar from, have probably been transported by the many container
ships that plows through the world’s oceans. Yet, we rarely hear or talk about the maritime industry, nor
do we know much about how it works. In this seminar, students will be acquainted to this integral, yet
unseen industry. We will trace the development of the international maritime industry, from its ancient
origins to its transformation brought about by the Age of Exploration and Imperialism. Students will learn
how the international maritime industry continues to serve as the lifeblood in international trade and
economy. In addition, students will uncover key issues present in the maritime industry such as piracy,
sovereignty issues, and human rights, and investigate how intergovernmental organizations such as the
United Nations and the International Maritime Organization address issues in the maritime industry.
Seminar #
Seminar Name
Seminar Code
5
Tradition, Simplified: A
Glimpse into the History
of Modern Chinese
Characters
JP_3
5
Tackling Human Rights
Crises: Modern-Day
Slavery in Southeast
Asia
Abstract
SS_4
5
Realism in International
Relations
YS_4
Seminar Description
This seminar explores the motivations behind the Chinese government’s decision to transform the
Chinese language with the introduction of simplified characters, the use of baihua (白话), and a
grammatical standard Putonghua （普通话）. We will examine the cultural implications behind the
change, as well as predating and concomitant social movements such as the xinwenhuayundong
(新文化运动). No knowledge of Chinese required.
In 2015, 36 bodies were found in shallow graves on the Thai-Malaysia border. Today, even more bodies
are being discovered every few weeks. They are Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Burma and
Bangladeshis escaping poverty. An estimated 10,000 laborers in Southeast Asia have been captured
and forced to work in industries like fishing and sex tourism, governed by organized crime networks.
They are but the tip of the iceberg of a transnational human trafficking network that held people in
concentration camps. As a student, and as a global citizen, how would you lead efforts to fight the crisis?
What if you had money – who would you give your money to? Many philanthropists and foundations ask
this question every day. Together, we will engage in a simulation to answer this problem with real money,
where we will look at the nonprofit sector in Southeast Asia and figure out how to give well. This class is
highly relevant for those who are interested in international social justice, human rights, and the
nonprofit sector. You will walk away understanding how modern slavery still exists, and things you can
do to fight it.
The Liberals thought the world was settled in their favour when Fukuyama declared the ‘end of history’,
and then it went awry. Welcome to the world of power and material pursuits on the international arena,
where diplomacy is produced from the barrel of a gun. Welcome to the world of Hobbes, Machiavelli,
and Waltz. We will examine Realist theory in international relations, taking states as our key actors, and
examine its predictions for state behavior in a modern case study (the Spratly Islands crisis). While
module employs political theory, no prior knowledge is necessary or assumed.
Copyright © 2015 Yale University. All rights reserved. The academic material this book contains belongs solely to the Yale Young Global Scholars Program and
should not be distributed outside the Yale Young Global Scholars community.