Splash Fall 2013
Course Catalog

Learn how to dance the basics of Salsa! There is no dance experience necessary and we would love to have you. Great music guaranteed!

Come learn the basics of bachata with us! Bachata is a great Carribean dance style that originated in the Dominican Republic and has since grown to one of the most popular Carribean dances. It will be super fun and the music is amazing. We would love to have everyone and anyone and we hope to see you there!

Are you a big goofball? Do you like to shine or stage, or just make people laugh any chance you get? Improvised and sketch comedy is for students who have creative minds and like to think on their feet. Learn about what it means to perform theatre through laughter, write skits about funny jokes, and have a blast making your friends and audience pee their pants. You can think outside of the box with Shenanigans!, Clark's improv and sketch comedy group, where we'll give you tips on how to perform in front of others and what it takes to write an awesome skit to perform. Make a splash of memories with a high-energy class, and don't forget: all the world's a stage!

This class will be focusing on the technique required for fluid movement of the body which is usually used for "on the fly" tribal fusion. Tribal Fusion is slower and requires more muscle strength than other types.


Prerequisites
none required

This is a brief introduction to speculative fiction! We will discuss what it means for a work of fiction to be speculative, the sub-genres of speculative fiction, and what role speculative fiction has played in pop culture. We will also be writing our own speculative short stories/vignettes!

Come and learn about you need to know about making films. We will go over some terms used during film productions and see some videos examples. If you want to learn or wish to work in the film industry come and join me!


Prerequisites
None

Learn how to make photos look interesting and creative by glitching an image. Learn how to use a simple text editor to change a standard photo file.

Islamic architecture has captured our minds and eyes for generations. One of the most stunning examples is the Taj Mahal. Islamic influence spanned from Spain to India which provides for a wide array of examples. This class will explore beyond the Taj Mahal and be a survey of a few of the lesser known, but stunning, examples of Islamic architecture and the historical and cultural influences inherent in each. Some study of recurring motifs across time and space will also be included.

Do our personalities reflect who we really are? What are we hiding from the world? Is it possible that others are hiding the same thing? Are we actually more similar to others than we thought was possible?

Here is a classic, research-based model that displays our commonalities with others but also our individualities, qualities unique to us. In this class you will find out things about yourself that you may have never realized before. You will be given knowledge about a model that, with an open mind, can enhance your life forever.

There are few events in the Middle Ages that are as dramatic as the Wars of Scottish Independence. That's why Mel Gibson made an extremely historically inaccurate movie about them. Come learn the real history behind William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, King Edward, and the bloody 13th - 14th century struggle for Scottish freedom from the English throne.


Prerequisites
None! This is an intro level course.

What does happiness mean to you? Do you believe that helping others leads to a successful life, or do you believe that money can bring forth greater success? Do you know the power of words? Of kindness? How does that relate to anything in life?
Throughout the 2 hour class, we will be playing games, watching videos, listening to music, and discussing the ideas of happiness, altruism, gratitude, the power of words, and how to create the best possible life with what we have available.

Students will learn the basics of Italian, including greetings, numbers one to one-thousand, and all sorts of vocabulary (including *many* terms for food.) Students will also see photography of three cities in Italy: Venice, Genoa and Sicily. This is a great introductory course for anyone with a passing interest in Italy or the Italian language!

This one-hour crash course in philosophy will briefly cover a few main arguments of three of the best known philosophers.

In this course we will explore the history of US feminist movements, and how they gave birth to modern feminist theories. The course will involve some lecture, but will be predominantly discussion-based. We will explore the many kinds of feminism, backlash against feminism, and feminism in the personal and political spheres.

Communism and Karl Marx have been talked about a lot more in recent years (both positively and negatively). It has also only been 22 years since the second most powerful country on Earth operated specifically under Marxist philosophy. Still, many today are unfamiliar with the philosophy behind Communism. This course will attempt a brief, neutral, and accessible introduction to Communist thought (mainly Karl Marx and his most importance influence Hegel).

Why is it we do what we do? Are we the masters of our own fates? This course will examine common arguments about the concept of free will as it relates to our daily lives.


Prerequisites
BE EXCELLENT

This lecture will deal with the highly complex history of Argentina in a way that will result easy to anyone. It will not go to much into detail, but will be strong enough to explain the current crisis in this country, its people and its history.

No prior knowledge of Argentina, its culture or history is needed.

Generally, this lesson will review the reasons Puerto Ricans move from Puerto Rico to the United States. It will focus on both internal (within the U.S.) and international migrations (from Puerto Rico to the U.S.), discussing migration trends in terms of each region's (the U.S. and Puerto Rico) economy, climate, politics, and interconnection between each country. This lesson will focus on how Puerto Rican migration relates to international development, economic change, population control and Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States.


Prerequisites
Some knowledge of U.S. History

Together, Mr.&Ms. U conduct a brief co-lecture followed by discussion on Plato's influential and widely-known dialogue "The Symposium". Socrates and several of his most famous interlocutors (dialogue partners) are represented throughout the work with their respective ideas of Love (eros, philos, etc.). This introductory course educates students about the foundation of philosophical speculation regarding what is arguably humans' most complex yet deterministic feature - our capacity to Love.

This class provides an introduction to International Development and its' project for the development of greater quality of life for humans, those especially in third-world countries.

We will look at the historical trends that led up to this idea that newly independent colonies should have social, economic, and political stability.
Along with that, we will focus on certain approaches and concepts and their use or misuse. Questions such as "Why does gender equality, human rights, government corruption, literacy rates and education matter? And what hinders the problem-solving of these issues?" will be confronted.

The class will end on a discussion about the relevance of this topic to our own lives, and examples of development we see everyday.

Learn how to survive any type of zombie apocalypse using Max Brook's novel The Zombie Survival Guide. Learn how to prepare, defend, attack and live in the new world.

Warning: This class will contain graphic content from The Walking Dead.

This course is about a symbolic language found in Disney films that reveal cultural ideologies found in American/Western societies.

Warning: There will be discussions of representations sexuality and racial stereotypes.

The Shahnameh is widely considered the greatest work of poetry in the Persian-speaking world. The words of the Shahnameh are on the tip of every Persian speaker's tongue to this day. With over 60,000 verses about the pre-Arab mythology and history of Persia, it is a source of cultural pride in Iran and parts of Afghanistan. It took Ferdowsi over 20 years to write this masterpiece. The story behind the writing of these tales is one full of political rebellion and defiance. In this class, we will explore the content, historical and geographical context and culture behind this masterpiece. Knowledge about the Shahnameh is a step towards understanding a culture that spans across national borders and how intimately the past and present are connected.

Throughout Human history, people have divided themselves into a multitude of unique and sprawling cultures that have defined the Human experience. This course examines cultural diversity and looks at its necessity from both a local and global standpoint. Diversity includes many ways of seeing and interpreting the world around us, and in this class we discuss why it's important to accept people from any cultural background as a way of enriching ourselves. This class is for anyone who loves the world and all its varied Human landscapes and provides a forum to discuss issues relating to cultural diversity in our time.

Inequality is one of the most significant issues confronting the world today. In fact it is so large that a little more than two years ago, it caused a nationwide protest movement aimed at bringing attention to the magnitude of the inequality in the United States. However, while the inequality rate is quite high in the United States, the countries of Latin America have enormous inequality rates as well, some of them among the most unequal countries in the world. This course will explore the topic of Inequality, how it has occurred, what its effects are, and what, if anything can be done about it.

The Art of Controvery (or Art of Being Right, depending on translations) is actually a book that has been written by the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer many years ago. In this book, Pappy Schoppy proposes 38 stratagems that would ideally make you always win an argument or, at least, not lose.

You think this works only in huge TV debates? This works also in everyday life! But Schopenhauer did not think about it this way. He only framed in the context in which there is a public.

In this class, I will show you a few stratagems about how to efficiently win an argument (whether you are actually right or not) and I will show you how to counter those stratagems as well.


Prerequisites
Although it is not absolutely necessary, try to read Preliminary: Logic and Dialectic and skim some of the stratagems in Schopenhauer's book. This material will be useful for the discussion we will have in class. I will attach the document to this class on the Course Catalog.

Enjoy a break for lunch with your friends! Please register for at least one lunch period.

The Black Plague. Tuberculosis. AIDS.

Throughout history, plagues, outbreaks, and pandemics have had an incalculable effect on society, oftentimes defining eras and changing the way of life for people around them. This joint History / Biology course will look at both the molecular mechanisms responsible for disease as well as what effects they've had on human civilization, and will span from Medieval to Modern times, ending on a discussion of modern pandemics like HIV/AIDS and potential pandemics of the future, like Bird Flu, SARS, and MERS.


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of History and Biology- nothing more than high-school level.

The fundamental concepts of calculus are surprisingly accessible. This class will cover the basics of calculus in a relaxed way to make the subject understandable to anyone with a decent grasp of algebra 2 or above.


Prerequisites
Algebra 2, familiarity with graphs, and an basic understanding of the equation for the slope of a line.

In this course, we will discover basic principles of Structural Analysis. The course will be focused on Axial Loading.
The part II of this course will be focused on Torsion, and if time allows, Bending will also be introduced by the end of part II.

I urge to register to Introduction to Structural Analysis II: Torsion to gain as much knowledge as possible.

This first part of the course along with the second one can serve as a basic Introduction to Mechanical Engineering.

This class is modeled off the MITx online class 2.01x: Elements of Structures.


Prerequisites
Differential and Integral Calculus, Basic Classical Mechanics. Calculus AB and Physics B (Mechanics) would be more than enough.

This is part II of the Introduction to Structural Analysis course. Part I introduces Axial Loading and this second part of the course is focused on Torsion.

If time allows, we will introduce Bending as well.

This second part of the course along with the first one can serve as a basic Introduction to Mechanical Engineering.


Prerequisites
Differential and Integral Calculus, Basic Classical Mechanics. Calculus AB and Physics B (Mechanics) would be more than enough. Introduction to Structural Analysis Part I: Axial Loading is not required but preferable.

You know about Calculus? Ever heard of Newton and Leibniz? Do you know that they have formulas which are awkwardly similar? How can sums of numbers be highly similar to product of functions? Is there such a thing? YES!

In this course, we will specifically be studying the very fascinating relationship between Leibniz's generalized Product Rule for functions and Newton's Multinomial Theorem.

If some of those names same scary (especially after you take a look at the pre-requisites), don't worry: this class is meant to explain them!


Prerequisites
Calculus is a must. Students should be familiar with proofs by induction as well as big-Sigma and big-Pi notations. Otherwise, you might want to check the following Wikipedia articles: The Binomial Theorem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_theorem The Multinomial Theorem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinomial_theorem The Product Rule: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_rule Generalizations of the Product Rule (same article): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_rule#Generalizations

Bacteria have a few different shapes they are cocci (round-shaped), bacillus (oval-shaped) and spirochete (spirally). Viruses have a unique form as well; together we will discover the formation entitled bacteriophage. Along with form we will investigate the different forms that bacteria and viruses replicate. I woul like to touch upon the microbial genetics of translation, transduction and transcription. These processes are in depth analyses into how they grow in hot, cold and optimally reduced environments;and replicate.

Students will learn about to different circuits called parallel and series circuits. Parallel have two/ormany more circuit paths while a series circuit has only a single circuit path. Power and Resistance will be discussed with examples as well as some problems for the student to solve. Some diagram icons such as a battery or resistor and many more icons will be displayed on the chalk/white board; a few examples will be given then you will be given a chance to try to diagram a few given problems.

Have you ever wondered how you can image the atomic structure of materials? In this class you will learn how one basic concept of quantum mechanics allowed for the development of a state-of-the-art experimental technique, scanning tunneling microscopy, to do just this. This class will include a demonstration of Clark’s scanning tunneling microscope.

Want to learn how to read and understand economic articles in newspapers and/or magazines? Want to understand the stock market? Well then, this is your chance. This course will teach you the introductory principles of economics and how to apply them to the real world.


Prerequisites
Enthusiasm to learn about the economy and the financial markets (e.g. Stocks).

Introduction to topics in Environmental Science including GIS, Water Test sampling etc. Job opportunities in this field and why you should care and pursue this field


Prerequisites
No prerequisitie is required, but knowing a bit of background in chemistry, biology or/and physics is optional

Become one of Darwin's finches and strive to keep you and your offspring (children) alive. You will use your beak (pliers) to bring enough food energy back to your nest, competing against all of the others in your community (classmates). See how variation (different types) of beaks and the changing environment affects success!
You will see learn the concepts of natural selection and evolution with this interactive activity.


Prerequisites
None.

This two hour course will cover some important concepts of Chemistry. Different levels of high school chemistry students are welcome to learn a quick overview of stoichiometry and its applications.

The course will focus on different parts of an individuals identity, ranging from one's gender to one's race.

We will play a game where students get to rank the different parts of their identity by their importance. At the end of the game, students will only be left with three parts of their identities, and from there, we will discuss why those three are the most important to them and how it feels to be ripped from different parts of their identities. We will talk about why as human beings we accidentally take away parts of other peoples identities through homophobia, being sexism, racism, etc.


Prerequisites
None

Are you a Junior or Senior and massively confused by how college applications work? This is the class for you. First we will learn some online simple tools to find colleges you may want to go to. Then we will learn how the Common App (the main college application website) works. There will also be time to ask about specific questions you may have about finding and then applying to college.

Do you or someone you know have a food allergy? Are you interested in what a food allergy is? Would you like to learn how to save a food allergic person's life? This class will teach you the basics of what a food allergy is, and how to administer an Epipen safely.

Fire Flow Fire Flow is a level 2 power Vinyassa and Kundalini combination that envigorates the entire body, relaxes the mind, and uplifts the spirit. The purpose of this class is to wake us up to the moment through focusing on the breath. With energizing music, core strengthening and balance poses, and an emphasis on "playing the edge"--challenging our minds and bodies without pain--this class will help beginners and practiced yogis alike to notice the subtleties of our bodies. Come to class with an open mind, and remember to leave your shoes and your ego at the door.


Prerequisites
N/A

This class will discuss how to get through high school with an emphasis on studying tricks and realizing one's academic potential. Learn how to plan, set priorities, organize yourself, and follow through on commitments, all while gaining insight into your own personal learning style. All in all, this class will be a great way to experiment with practical ways of making you a better student and getting through one of the hardest part's of your academic career.

This course will be an interactive training in some basic first aid skill with instructions and fun interactions with real emergency medical personnel, from Clark University Emergency Medical Squad.

"American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.”-James Baldwin. This class will focus on the "terrible" parts of American history. Some think that though our government has done bad things in the past, such as allow slavery, we no longer endorse such cruel behavior. Others think that America's past is innocent and wonderful, but that today, we are worse than we've ever been before because we support and trade with foreign oppressive governments. This class will highlight some of America's more infamous atrocities, such as slavery, as well some more ignored atrocities, such as the confinement of over 100,000 Japanese residents and citizens to "internment camps" during World War II. How can we do such terrible things, yet still call ourselves the "land of the free and home of the brave?" What can we do to make up for America's past cruelties? And most importantly, how do we bring an end to those being committed right now?


Prerequisites
Basic background knowledge of American history from 1776-2013!

The mission of this course is to teach students the basics of conversation in Chinese, to tell them the history of the Chinese language, and to raise their interest in Chinese.

In this course, we will explore the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) spectrum. Topics will include sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex. We will also discuss how a better understanding of these identities can help us create more inclusive spaces for everyone.

*NOTE: This is a special course to allow students from the Gateway to College to get a campus tour. If you are not part of this program, registration is strictly permission-only. If you would like to be part of this class, please E-mail Clarkuesp@gmail.com*

Join Clark RA Carlos Deschamps on a comprehensive hour-long tour of Clark University, including its academic facilities, dorms, and more! This tour will be a great introduction to Clark as a whole, and you can feel free to ask as many questions about college and dorm life as you'd like!

Wanna save lives? Wait, me too. Come find out what your life would be like if you lived in Ecuador and what you can do to help. How would someone your age live and what problems would they face? How would it be different than your life today? Through organizations such as Timmy Global Health health inequities are continuously being addressed. Come learn about global health on an international and domestic scale!!

Conceptions of gender are evolving beyond just men and women. Join OPEN, Clark's LGBTQIA+ group, in a dialogue exploring what these changes in conceptions of gender mean for the LGBTQIA+ community and the greater community at large. Learn about identities beyond the man-woman binary and how they change how we talk about sexuality.

Whether it be at Clark or somewhere else, you will major in something you're passionate about, and then hopefully land a dream job. But if you're prepared, it doesn't have to be scary! Explore different academic opportunities and career paths that interest you through interactive activities, discussions, games, and roleplaying!

In this course, we will discuss the different types of disabilities (mainly on the topic of mental disabilities like Autism, Down syndrome etc.) and touch base on physical disabilities. I will also talk about how to get involved and raise awareness to help these people, as well as the many reasons for doing so.


Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required. The course is open to anyone and everyone. If anyone has experience with disabled people, please come and share your ideas.

Do you dream of someday ruling the world? In this class, we will discuss the logistics of this dream and create a plan towards achieving our ultimate goal.

Learn to play Ultimate! Ultimate is a sport played with a Frisbee or flying disc. The goal: to catch it in the end zone by passing the disc up field. If you don't know how to throw a Frisbee that's fine we will teach you. Or if you do we will teach you another way! Be prepared to be running around and have a blast.

Students will get an introduction to making balloon animals. As the class progresses the students will get a chance to try making many different balloon animals of varying difficulty. Everyone is welcome to come learn this simple yet entertaining skill.

So you want to pilot a giant robot? Well too bad because the government won't let us play with them. But if there is on thing that television has taught us, it's that when the world finds itself under attack by giant monsters the ones leading the charge against them will be undertrained children driving mechanized destruction. So learn the basic skills needed now, such important things like: "Yes it is just like a video game" "Why shouting makes you stronger" "Beam Saber or Progresso Knife?" "Naming your finishing move" and the ever important "So your robot is trying to eat you". All this and more. Former training not required or encouraged.

This is a tour class for middle school students. Please only register for it if you are in a program that is working directly with SPLASH and has instructed you to register.