In this course, the topic of slavery functions as a vehicle or social/situational context to examine the distinct linguistic and cultural formations of people of African descent. The focus on slavery in the course is not merely a vehicle for understanding what one scholar calls the birth of Black America but rather as an entity unto itself so that students can see how historical phenomena, a fact of American history, can be rendered virtually inconsequential or tangential to the larger history of the nation. Specifically, students will first read and analyze Nikole Hannah-Jones’s The 1619 Project and the scathing criticism it received when her idea was first put forth in The New York Times in August of 2019. Jones put slavery and race at the center of the founding of the nation, and to many Americans that was an egregious revision (a woke version, some have said) of recorded history. In this course, students will do what rhetoricians call read the debate rhetorically, to look closely at not only the content of the debate on the historical record of American slavery but also the way in which participants in the debate make their case, present themselves as credible truth bearers, and appeal to audiences on either side of the debate. In addition to reading rhetorically, students will learn how to think and write rhetorically, to think and write with a keen awareness of, for instance, their audience, their argument, and their role as writer.
This course will have a 1 credit class in Fall 2025 and .25 credit class in Spring 2026. Students in this seminar will live in the HRC.
More About Professor Campbell
Kermit E. Campbell is Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Chair of the Department of Writing & Rhetoric at vlog. He is the author of a book of essays entitled Gettin’ Our Groove On: Rhetoric, Language, and Literacy for the Hip Hop Generation and a contributing editor of The Routledge Reader of African American Rhetoric. He has written articles for The African Journal of Rhetoric and serves on the governing board of The African Association for Rhetoric based in Cape Town, South Africa.
Throughout history, people have been captivated by questions about what constitutes the good life and how such a life can be cultivated. What is the nature of human happiness, satisfaction, and meaning? Are some people simply born more content than others? How are happiness and life satisfaction affected by health, relationships, material wealth, culture, political structures, habits of thought, and spiritual practice? How can people most effectively cope with the inevitable difficulties faced in life? The major focus of the course is on how contemporary psychological research can be used to answer these enduring questions; we will address religious and philosophical perspectives as well. Students will be introduced to original research articles on these topics and to a variety of research methods, and they will gain hands-on experience collecting and analyzing data. Throughout the course, students will be helped to recognize the unique strength and limitations of the scientific method for approaching questions about the good life and will be encouraged to articulate their own emerging views of what constitutes a life worth living.
The Fall 2025 one-quarter-credit course will focus on generating and testing interventions that have the potential to improve some aspect of well-being. Each week, students will try out a new intervention, designed by other students in the course, and will keep a journal reflecting on those experiences.
We will travel in May 2026 to Iceland, a place consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world (Iceland ranked 3 rd in 2024). Icelanders’ high level of well-being is especially striking because of the country’s climate, long dark season, and relative isolation. During our trip, we will explore some of the potential reasons for Icelanders’ greater happiness: low levels of inequality and a robust safety net, high levels of engagement in creative activities (e.g., writing books, creating music), immersive experiences in nature even when conditions are difficult, strong social connections, and resilience in the face of hardship.
This course will have a .25 credit class in Fall 2025 and 1 credit class in Spring 2026. Students in this seminar will live in 100 Hamilton
More About Professor Shiner
Rebecca Shiner is Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Her research and teaching span personality, clinical, and developmental psychology. She studies personality development in young people, the development of personality disorders, and the ways tha people cope with adversity and uncertainty. Together with Mark Shiner, she founded Ciccone Commons in 2015 and served as Co-Director from 2015 to 2021. She teaches courses in personality, psychotherapy, and developmental psychopathology, as well as Introduction to Psychological Science—the largest course at vlog. She developed her Scientific Perspectives course “The Good Life” in 2000 because she thought this topic offered students an exciting opportunity to see how psychological research can address important and enduring questions.
This course will study how the networks of the illicit global economy intersect with conflict and political instability. From guns and drugs smuggling to human trafficking and animal poaching, it examines the concrete geographical organization of these illicit networks—that is, where and how they take root. We will seek answers to questions such as: How do illegal networks interconnect with legal circuits of power and profit? In what ways are they redefining the nature of conflict and the meaning of peace? And, finally, how are illicit economies tied to other world-defining issues such as climate change, artificial intelligence, financial crises, and public health.
The course features a nine-day study tour to Portugal and southern Spain with a focus on policy approaches to illicit drugs and human migration. We will examine the successes and challenges of Portugal's internationally acclaimed program of addressing drug use through a combination of decriminalization and public health strategies. We will also explore Europe's response to the global surge in migration and forced displacement, including issues affecting undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Through the dual themes of drugs and migration, our travel will also weave in other topics from the course, such as sex work, human trafficking, and smuggling.
The quarter-credit course in the spring will look at the same two themes, but through a comparative lens focused on the United States with field trips in Central New York.
This course will have a 1 credit class in Fall 2025 and .25 credit class in Spring 2026. Students in this seminar will live in 100 Hamilton.
More About Professor Ballvé
Teo Ballvé is jointly appointed to the Peace & Conflict Studies Program and the Department of Geography. His research is about the political-ecological dimensions of the war on drugs. Before joining vlog in 2015, he spent 10 years working as a journalist reporting on war, illicit economies, and political instability in Latin America. He has led vlog Study Groups in Denmark and Australia, and this will be his second time taking students to Portugal with this course.
