Below are WAYS 103 Seminars that will be offered in Fall 2024.
Google Photograph automatically classified a portrait of two African Americans as "gorillas." Was this grossly unacceptable result a bug or a feature of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How did a major corporation release such a flawed algorithm to the public and what steps should they have taken to avoid this? What other algorithms are doing the same – or even worse – behind closed doors and inside the black boxes of "machine learning"? During this course, we will explore these issues and expose the biases and discrimination that are inherent in many AI systems.
How do you define sex? How many sexes are there? Two? What if I told you that genetically people have five commonly recognized sexes, not two? And sex is different than gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. In this course, we will discuss sex and gender from biological and social perspectives. By examining published research and reading and listening to first-person accounts on sex and gender from members o f various communities and cultures, we will gain a better understanding of the complexity of the lives we live as sexed and gendered people.
This course will examine the implications of people, place, and culture on graphic design and documentary filmmaking. We will observe, discuss, and write about filmmaking from aesthetics, narrative tactics, and patterns of production. Students will examine cultural identities surrounding the history and culture of graphic designers and filmmakers in the North Country and Akwesasne. Students will research the history of design in this area and interview designers to create graphic designs and a documentary focused on culture, identity, and media. The course will culminate in students presenting film posters about the designers they interviewed and their documentary film.
Can the world be changed in 10 seconds? In August 1936, Nazi Germany hosted the world for the 10th Olympic Games, hoping to use the opportunity to showcase Hitler’s 3rd Reich to the 49 nations striving for the gold. Nonetheless, Jesse Owens, an African American athlete, won gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.3 seconds striking a blow against Hitler’s propaganda of Aryan superiority. Owens was one of many diverse athletes competing in the ’36 games who, while facing extraordinary challenges, paved the way for all who followed in their footsteps. Throughout this course, we will examine the stories of diverse American Olympic athletes as they navigated the challenges of training and competition in a charged environment of systemic inequity and discrimination both at home and abroad.
This course explores the intersections of mindfulness practices and diversity, focusing on how mindfulness can enhance our understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Students will examine various contemplative traditions and practices, alongside critical discussions on race, gender, sexuality, ability, and socio-economic factors. Through readings, discussions, experiential exercises, and reflective assignments, students will develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others within diverse social contexts.
In many ways, race is “seen” with many people often identifying race—and making judgments about another person or group of people—based only on what they see. In this course, we will use images from comics and graphic novels to explore what people see when they “see race.” We will look at both positive and negative visualizations, exploring images that celebrate racial diversity as well as those that emphasize stereotypes, in order to better understand how race is seen. Further, we will use our discussions of these images as way to begin talking about our own understandings of the visual nature of race: How do we see race? How do we want our race to be seen? What do we want others to see?
Who are the pioneering women who made significant contributions towards scientific advancement? We will discuss well-known scientists, such as Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin, as well as recent recipients of Nobel prizes (Ada Yonath, Elizabeth Blackburn) and younger pioneers in their specific fields (Jennifer Doudna). We will also pay particular attention to women who have historically not been given due recognition such as Henrietta Lacks and Marie-Anne Lavoisier.