FSEM Courses

History is the study of what happened—the paths, both chosen and unchosen, taken by people in the past.  But what about what didn’t happen—the paths not taken, the choices not made, the outcomes that never came to be?  Historians refer to this topic of debate as alternate history or counterfactual history.

Artificial intelligence is quickly moving from science fiction to reality. This course will look at how some of these systems work and contrast it with how human minds process information and reach decisions.

Fairy tales are a literary genre that encompasses the world. While often considered to be part of children’s literature, fairy tales reflect the culture of the region they originate from. On the other hand, as Vladimir Propp shows, fairy tales share common structures that transcend national and cultural boundaries. This course has a closer look at the structure, meaning, and function of international fairy tales and their enduring influence on popular culture.

In this class, we will examine political polarization in the United States from both an institutional and behavioral perspective. Quotes like the one above suggest that Americans are hopelessly polarized, pushed by our partisan predispositions to vote for or against a candidate regardless of whether we like that candidate’s issue positions or personal characteristics.

This course is a seminar that explores the historical and current phenomenon of journeys across the United States through the examination of case studies, with particular attention paid to privilege, age, race, and gender.

Throughout United States history, disasters have redefined the American physical and political landscape. The History of American Disasters is a first-year seminar focused on how disasters affect people’s lives and communities. There are two sections of this seminar: one focusing on natural disasters and one focusing on building fires.

Throughout modern history, individuals have taken extraordinary pleasure in sharing the music that they love with others. Why we like the music that we do and why we feel the need to share it with others can tell us a lot about who we are as individuals.

This class delves into a different kind of war—not one of guns and bombs but a centuries-old battle over what history should be taught and commemorated. While I’ve always been passionate about studying history, it wasn’t until my years teaching high school history in Southeast Dallas that I began questioning the content mandated for our students. Why, for instance, did my students need to know about WWI Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York but not about Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street”?

In this first-year seminar, you will become the hero of your own story, learning from the searching exploits of mortals and demi-gods who explored unknown lands and divine realms and who, like Odysseus’s son Telemachus, searched for meaning and fulfillment as they transitioned into adulthood. 

While ADHD has often been understood as a disorder that individuals must overcome in order to be successful, some researchers have begun to examine how ADHD traits can be the source of great creativity and innovation.