Course Catalog - Middlebury College - Winter 2025
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General Information
Each student may enroll in only one academic, credit-bearing course; each instructor teaches only one course. Students may study independently or as participants in a course, in their major fields or in disciplines they have never studied before. The winter term curriculum consists of a variety of courses, both interdepartmental and departmental, at various levels, from beginner to advanced. Some students also have the opportunity to undertake a winter internship instead of formal study.
Normally, a department may require its students to take no more than one of its winter term courses, in addition to winter term senior work, during four years. Students are urged to take winter term courses in substantially different areas in their first two years. A minimum of two Winter Term credits are required. A maximum of four winter term and a maximum of three summer study credits may count toward the graduation requirement of 36 credits.
2025 Classes
In a typical winter term, all courses meet a minimum of eight contact hours per week, and many courses require additional hours. In winter term 2023, the balance of class meeting time to outside-of-class engaged time will vary from course to course. This winter term will begin on Thursday, January 5. Due to the brevity of the term, it is imperative that each student attend the first class and all classes. Students who miss the first class of winter term must have an excuse from their Student Life Dean.
See Winter Term Catalog, Winter Term Course Scheduling and Winter Term Registration.
Grading System
Winter term courses normally are graded A through F. Some courses, because of their special nature, are graded on an Honors/Pass/Fail basis but must first be approved by the Curriculum Committee. Internships are graded Credit/No Credit. Independent Projects are graded on an A-F basis unless special arrangements are made through the dean of curriculum (e.g., occasional independent projects where the instructor decides that the special nature of the course is better suited to honors/pass/fail grading).
All winter term course work must be completed by the end of the winter session. Grades of Incomplete will be submitted according to existing procedures in consultation with the Student Life Dean, and such work must be satisfactorily completed by the end of the following spring semester.
Students who receive grades of D or F in winter term courses or independent projects are placed on probation. Students who receive an F may need to make up the course credit, but not necessarily during a winter term.
Theses, honors projects, and senior work undertaken or completed during winter term as part of a larger project will be graded under the regular A-F grading system, the grade to be based upon an evaluation of the completed project as a whole.
Waitlists for Visiting Instructor Courses
Please Note: A waitlist is not generated before registration begins or before a class is fully enrolled. Contact information for visiting instructors is not provided before classes begin in January, and visitors do not manage their course waitlist until the term begins.
An electronic waitlist option is available in Banner for each visiting instructor’s course. If a course that you are interested in has filled before you are able to register, please add your name to that waitlist in Banner during registration.
If you would like to be placed on a waitlist for a visiting instructor’s course after the registration period has ended (Nov 6), please contact Diane Burnham at dburnham@middlebury.edu. She will monitor this process until classes begin in January.
If you would like to inquire about a waitlist for a course taught by a Middlebury faculty member, please contact the instructor of that course directly.
Winter Term Independent Study
Students with 8 or more credits may submit a proposal to their faculty sponsor for winter term independent work (0500 Work) either as a continuation of their major or minor or as work outside of their major or minor as long as:
- They have not completed more than two units of winter term independent work; and
- They have received the approval of the chair or director of the department or program in which the work will be completed
Students are not allowed to pursue independent projects during their first winter term.
How to Apply
Contact a faculty member in the department/program in which the work will be done to ask if they will advise the project; once approved by the faculty member, the student should register for that faculty member’s independent project section during the registration period (or by Banner override during add/drop).
Deadline
Ongoing until the Add Deadline
Off-Campus Study
No student may undertake off-campus winter term study during their first year. This includes both September and February matriculates. Once a student has enrolled in an off-campus winter term course, they may not drop the course except in the case of an extreme family emergency.
Off-Campus Financial Aid
Financial aid is NOT available for internships, independent projects, or any off-campus trips, except the winter term courses offered through the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).
Winter Term Internships
Winter term internships involve a significant high-level exposure to the fundamental work of an organization, with ties to a student’s academic and/or professional interests. They challenge students to apply their liberal arts learning in a real-world setting and provide students with an opportunity to reflect meaningfully on the connections between their classroom learning and their outside-the-classroom experiences. Internships can be pursued by eligible students during winter term and students can apply for the opportunity to earn academic credit for their work in reflecting upon, and making meaning of, the internship experience. The Curriculum Committee oversees this process, in partnership with individual faculty members and with the Center for Careers and Internships (CCI). Sophomores through last-semester seniors are eligible to participate in Winter Term internships for credit. Students must spend their first Winter Term on-campus enrolled in a class and must earn at least two Winter term credits in total to graduate.
Apply
To apply for credit for a Winter Term internship, eligible students identify an internship opportunity and a faculty member whom they wish to advise them in connection with the internship. If the faculty member agrees that the internship provides a worthwhile opportunity for the application of liberal arts learning, the student and faculty member together develop a plan for the academic work that will express the student’s thoughtful reflection on the internship and its connections to their learning. The student then applies for internship credit by submitting an application (i.e., creating an “Experience”) in Handshake and lists the name and contact information of their internship sponsor (work supervisor) and faculty academic sponsor in the application. The two sponsors will receive links via a Handshake email to their respective online forms, which they will complete, indicating their support of the internship terms. Eligible students may apply for two types of grants available for students engaging in off-campus internships for credit who have expenses related to their internship; the first grants are for students who receive financial aid from the College, and the second grant is for students whose internships relate to Conflict Transformation. See FAQs at go/WTinternships for more information.
Overview
Students in these approved winter term internships spend a minimum of 4 weeks at 25 hours per week (or 100 hours total) engaged in their internship and complete the agreed upon academic work. Winter Term 2025 dates are January 6-January 31. At the end of the internship, the student and the work supervisor submit evaluation reports (due Feb. 7, 2025). The faculty member grades the student’s work in response to the internship on a Credit/No Credit basis (Faculty must email their credit recommendations to Amy McGlashan at CCI no later than Feb. 12, 2025). Students with fewer than 8 credits may not undertake winter term internships for credit, and students who take more than one internship in four years should pursue substantially different learning experiences in each. A student may not repeat the same winter term internship for credit. A relative may not function as an internship supervisor. If the internship is in a non-English speaking-country, the committee will expect competence in the language of that country, although exceptions apply. Students can also pursue internships during Winter Term without receiving academic credit, but they must be earning credit in order to live on-campus.
Deadlines
The deadline for students to submit an application for Winter Term Credit is December 1, 2024. Students should plan to submit before Thanksgiving break, if possible, to allow adequate time for processing of application.
If you are waiting for approval on a proposed internship, you must register for an alternate Winter Term course during Winter Term registration in case the proposal is denied. Once your internship is approved, you will receive instructions from CCI on how to register or switch your course registration in Banner to the internship.
Contact
More information about internship opportunities and the application process for winter term internship credit is available from CCI, or contact Amy McGlashan. More information about the faculty member’s role, appropriate academic work in connection with internships, and grading of such work is available from the Dean of Curriculum Grace Spatafora, ext. 5431.
Auditing
Prior permission of the instructor is required for any audit. There is no credit for any form of auditing; students cannot audit a winter term course unless they are also enrolled in another academic credit-bearing course. To obtain “official audit” status, in which case the course will be recorded on the student’s transcript, the student must make a request to the instructor, and the student and instructor must agree in writing on conditions for satisfactory completion of the audit. These students must register via the registrar’s office for this formal Audit status.
Community members living in the Middlebury area may audit courses only with the permission of the instructor and the dean of curriculum or designee. Current high school students may not audit courses at Middlebury College.
Introductory Language Programs
Students enrolled in a fall semester 0101 language course who plan to continue in the spring must register for the winter term language course if that language has one.
Distribution Requirement Credit
Winter term courses that may be used to satisfy academic categories and the cultures and civilizations requirement are so indicated in the course description.
Physical Education Classes
Students may enroll in PHED classes during winter term to satisfy the PE requirement, but they must also be enrolled in a credit-bearing academic course. See information on PHED offerings.
Approval Required Courses
To register for any of the following courses, you must first get the approval of the instructor. Even with prior approval, you must still register in BannerWeb during the registration period.
- BIOL 0371 Advanced Field Biology
- DANC 0381: Dance Company of Middlebury
- FMMC 1020: Collaborative Video Projects
- INTD 1005 Worldbuilding
- INTD 1074: MiddCORE 2025
- INTD 1089: Middlebury Entrepreneurs
- JWST/RELI 1056 Confronting the Jewish Past
- MUSC 1013 Making a Musical
- MUSC 1025: Electronic Music Production
- RELI 1051: Islam in Contemporary Morocco
College Writing Program
After successful completion of a first-year seminar and before the end of the fourth semester at Middlebury, every student must elect a second writing-intensive course. These courses will include regular writing assignments that emphasize further development of the writing skills introduced in the first-year student seminars. The following courses offered during the 2022 winter term will fulfill the college writing (CW) requirement.
Writing Program Courses
- WRPR 1007: Research/Service Grant Writing
Opt-Out Information
If you are opting out for Winter Term you still must participate in Winter Term registration.
You must register for the following CRN:
CRN: 10405 WNTR 0000 No-Credit Not On Campus Winter
Students registering for this No-Credit option will not earn academic credit during winter term. Questions concerning this No-Credit option should be directed, via email, to registrar@middlebury.edu.
African American Studies Minor
African Studies Minor
Program in American Studies
AMST 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Select project advisor prior to registration. WTRAMST 0710 Honors Thesis (Winter 2025)
For students who have completed AMST 0705, and qualify to write two-credit interdisciplinary honors thesis. on some aspect of American culture. The thesis may be completed on a fall/winter schedule or a fall/spring schedule. (Select a thesis advisor prior to registration)AMST 1015 American Deaf Culture and History (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore America’s “DEAF-WORLD” from the early 19th century through the present day. Creative, community-based, and scholarly readings, as well as memoirs, TV shows, films, and material objects will illustrate diverse traditions of “deaf,” including religious, biomedical, and social-cultural forms. Central themes will guide our work: language and communication, community and identity, cultural values and practices, education, artistic and popular representations, technology and bioethics, and activism. Through these themes we will learn about audism and ableism—foundational concepts in deaf studies—as they relate to other systems of power and privilege. Intersecting social identities within deaf cultural worlds also will draw sustained attention. We will engage in a highly collaborative learning process. Small group research projects and interactive class discussions will contribute to deeper learning about continuity and change, and varying perspectives in and about America’s “DEAF-WORLD.” This course does not require knowledge of American Sign Language. AMR, HIS, SOC, WTR (S. Burch)AMST 1021 Reacting to the Past: America in Turmoil - From Chicago, 1968 to Watergate (Winter 2025)
In this course students will dive deep into the politically charged landscape of the 1960s and 1970s via two Reacting to the Past games—Chicago, 1968: The Democratic National Convention and Watergate, 1974-1975. As participants, students will research and present the perspectives of historical characters—sometimes with values quite different from their own—in lively debate. These games do not have a fixed script: students will find themselves examining classic documents, collaborating, making public speeches, plotting—and in the end, perhaps even rewriting history. As students deepen their understanding of this era, they will also gain insights into what might be at stake in present and future historical inflection points. AMR, CW, HIS, WTR (D. Evans)Department of Anthropology
ANTH 0500 Advanced Individual Study (Winter 2025)
Prior to registering for ANTH 0500, a student must enlist the support of a faculty advisor from the Department of Anthropology. (Open to Majors only) (Approval Required) WTR (594 seats)ANTH 0700 One-Semester Senior Project (Winter 2025)
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a student will carry out an independent, one-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 25-40 pages, due the last day of classes.ANTH 0710 Multi-Semester Senior Project (Winter 2025)
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a senior will carry out an independent multi-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 60-100 pages, due either at the end of the Winter Term or the Friday after spring break.ANTH 0720 Multi-Semester Senior Project Part 2 (Winter 2025)
A continuation of ANTH 0710, and under the guidance of a faculty member, a senior will carry out an independent multi-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 60-100 pages, due either at the end of the Winter Term or the Friday after spring break.ANTH 1005 Endangered Food (Winter 2025)
We walk into a grocery store and perceive a large variety of food choices. At the same time, we are told western diets are unhealthy and “homogenous.” What does this “homogeneity” refer to? And, does it apply to those of us who strive to consume “balanced” diets? In this course, we will explore the contrast between modern dietary homogeneity and the history and diversity of ancient foods. In addition to reading social science literature and case studies, we will take a practical approach to exploring course themes by meeting with farmers and naturalists aiming to preserve, and return to, diverse and wild food systems. For their final projects, students will undertake a project centering a native foodway.Alexa Duchesneau is a fifth year Anthropology PhD candidate at Yale University. She studies the nutritional ecology of human and non-human primates./ SOC, WTR (A. Duchesneau)
Cross-listed as:
FOOD 1005 *
ANTH 1023 Anthropology of Meat: Why Humans Consume Other Animals (Winter 2025)
Why are some animals taboo to eat? Can it be ethical to eat meat (and how is “ethical” defined)? In this course, we will explore meat eating practices around the world, focusing on issues like sustainability, race, and gender. Key texts include Nadasdy's 2007 article "The Gift in the Animal," Boisseron's Afro-Dog (2018), Adams' The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990), and Ko's Racism as Zoological Witchcraft (2019). Through a variety of texts, films, and guest speakers--including food discrimination lawyer Thulasi Raj and Vermont slaughterer Mary Lake--we will explore our own relationships to meat eating, while questioning what it means to be human. This course does not seek to persuade you towards or away from vegetarianism; all experiences are welcome.Amanda Kaminsky is a PhD Candidate in Sociocultural Anthropology at the University of Michigan and an alumna of Middlebury College (Class of 2013, B.A. Chinese)./ CMP, SOC, WTR (A. Kaminsky)
Cross-listed as:
FOOD 1023
ANTH 1035 Refugees or Labor Migrants: The Anthropology of South-North Migration (Winter 2025)
Millions of people from low-income countries are moving to high-income countries without work visas. If they seek to escape poverty and government corruption, do they deserve to be classified as refugees with a human right to cross international borders? Heightened border enforcement has led to thousands of deaths in the American Southwest and the Mediterranean, and now anxious voters are electing politicians who promise even harsher crackdowns. Based on research with international migration streams, this course will explore debates over asylum rights, border enforcement, the deportation industry, the migration industry, low-wage labor markets and remittance economies, with a focus on Latin American and Chinese migration to the U.S., as well as African and Mideastern migration to Western Europe (Not open to students who have taken SOAN 1021 or SOAN 329) AAL, AMR, CMP, SOC, WTR (D. Stoll)ANTH 1224 Empowerment or Exploitation? Engaging Communities in the Pursuit of Better Health (Winter 2025)
Sustained progress in global health and development requires the participation of target communities. Vaccines, for instance, will themselves do no good if caregivers refuse to vaccinate their children. In this course, we will explore the role of communities in the pursuit of improved health – a state often pre-defined by outsiders without direct community consultation. The course will focus specifically on the evolving role of community health workers within global health and development agendas, emphasizing therein the fine line we tread (as global health policy makers, implementers, and donors) between empowering and exploiting the communities on whose participation our success relies. (not open to students who have taken INTD 1224)Since 2009, Harriet has studied, supported, and advocated for community health systems across the globe, focusing on community health policy, design, implementation, and financing. In her current role on the global malaria team at Clinton Health Access Initiative, Harriet supports countries across sub-Saharan Africa, the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and Mesoamerica to holistically engage community health worker networks as key partners in the fight to eliminate malaria and improve access to basic health services. Harriet holds a Master of Science in Public Health with a focus on community health systems from Johns Hopkins University, and a BA in anthropology from Middlebury College./ SOC, WTR (H. Napier)
Cross-listed as:
GHLT 1224
Department of Arabic
ARBC 0102 Beginning Arabic II (Winter 2025)
This course is an intensive continuation of ARBC 0101. In addition to the goals stated for that course there will be extra emphasis on cultural skills during winter term. (ARBC 0101 or equivalent). LNG, WTR (M. Khader, K. Bouchafra)ARBC 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRARBC 0700 Senior Thesis I (Winter 2025)
Approval required.ARBC 0701 Senior Thesis II (Winter 2025)
Approval required.Department of Biology
BIOL 0371 Advanced Field Biology: Place-based Global Biology Education (Winter 2025)
In this upper-level biology course, we will conduct field-based scientific observation, sample and data collection, and interpretation of biological phenomena. Students will be deeply engaged in off-campus, place-based learning linking Puerto Rico’s terrestrial landscapes to marine ecosystems, with a focus on the ecology, evolution and biogeochemistry across freshwater to marine system gradients. The course is split between time on-campus and off-campus conducting group research projects integrating field observations with data analysis. Students will collaborate and partner with local community members on intercultural projects with ethical local impact and relevance. Open to BIOL, MBBC, ESBI, BIOL-ECSC majors or waiver. (BIOL 0145 and BIOL 0140 and a 200- or 300-level BIOL class with laboratory or by waiver) WTR (E. Eggleston, E. Moody)BIOL 0392 Conservation Biology (Winter 2025)
A conservation biologist is a problem-solver who applies tools from disparate fields – e.g., evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, paleontology, anthropology, and population biology – to address complex real-world dilemmas of relevance to human, wildlife, and ecosystem health. To effectively leverage their data, conservation biologists must also recognize and navigate government regulations, diverse cultural practices, and stakeholder perceptions. This course is international in scope. Emphasis will be placed on current issues such as species reintroduction, detecting extinction, rewilding, novel ecosystems, protected area design, shifting baselines, human-wildlife conflict, and climate change. This course will require engagement with community partners in independent research. (BIOL 140 required; recommended ENVS 112) SCI, WTR (R. Vizgirdas)BIOL 0450 Topics in Reproductive Medicine (Winter 2025)
In this course we will examine the fundamentals of human reproduction and modern reproductive intervention strategies. Rapid discoveries in medical technologies have allowed us to push the limits of the human body, and we will explore the scientific and medical challenges that surround the control of fertility and infertility, fetal life, birth, and the neonatal period. Through critical review of the primary literature, writing, and informed dialogues, students will gain an understanding of key topics in reproductive medicine. (BIOL 0140, BIOL 0145, and one other 0200 or 0300-level biology course) SCI, WTR (C. Combelles)BIOL 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
In this course students complete individual projects involving laboratory and/or field research or extensive library study on a topic chosen by the student and a faculty advisor. Prior to registering for BIOL 0500, a student must have discussed and agreed upon a project topic with a member of the Biology Department faculty. Additional requirements include attendance at all Biology Department seminars and participation in any scheduled meetings with disciplinary sub-groups and lab groups. This course is not open to seniors; seniors should enroll in BIOL 0700, Senior Independent Study. (BIOL 0211. Approval required) 3 hrs. disc. WTR (1188 seats)BIOL 0700 Senior Independent Study (Winter 2025)
In this course students complete individual projects involving laboratory and/or field research or extensive library study on a topic chosen by the student and a faculty advisor. Prior to registering for BIOL 0700, a student must have discussed and agreed upon a project topic with a member of the Biology Department faculty. Additional requirements include attendance at all Biology Department seminars and participation in any scheduled meetings with disciplinary sub-groups and lab groups. (BIOL 0211. Approval required; open only to seniors) 3 hrs. disc.BIOL 0701 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
Seniors majoring in Biology who have completed one or more semesters of BIOL 0500 or BIOL 0700 and who plan to complete a thesis should register for BIOL 0701. In this course students will produce a written thesis, deliver a public presentation of the research on which it is based, and present an oral defense of the thesis before a committee of at least three faculty members. Additional requirements include attendance at all Biology Department seminars and participation in any scheduled meetings with disciplinary sub-groups and lab groups. Open to Biology and joint Biology/Environmental Studies majors. (BIOL 0211 and BIOL 0500 or BIOL 0700 or waiver; instructor approval required for all students) 3 hrs. discBIOL 1013 The Expansive Future of RNA (Winter 2025)
The success of the COVID-19 vaccines has catalyzed a revolution in RNA therapeutics. RNA-based therapies provide a highly versatile and adaptable treatment modality without the risks associated with genomic editing. Currently RNA-based treatments for cancer, infectious diseases, and genetic disorder are under active development. In this course we will explore the scientific discoveries that have made this exciting technological advancement possible. Topics will include eukaryotic transcriptional and translational regulation, RNA structure, RNA modifications, and codon optimality. We will also explore the role of small RNAs (tRNAs, miRNAs, siRNAs) in the regulation of gene expression and RNA therapy. (BIOL 0145)Ethan Strayer (Middlebury class of 2016) is a doctoral candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Antonio Giraldez at Yale University. His work seeks to understand how cis-regulatory elements encoded in an mRNA modulate transcript stability and translational output. This work has resulted in the filing multiple patents, as well as contributed to the launch of RESA therapeutics, a biotech company focused on the development of novel mRNA therapies./ SCI, WTR (E. Strayer)
BIOL 1230 Data Science Across Disciplines (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning, large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Biology, Geography, History, Mathematics/Statistics and Sociology. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.BIOL 1230: Students enrolled in Professor Casey’s (Biology) afternoon section will use the tools of data science to investigate the drivers of primary production in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. To do this, students will learn to manipulate, interrogate, and visualize global ocean satellite datasets.
GEOG 1230: In this section, we will investigate human vulnerability to natural hazards in the United States using location-based text data about hurricane and flood disasters from social media. We will analyze data qualitatively, temporally, and spatially to gain insights into the human experience of previous disasters and disaster response. We will present findings using spatial data visualizations with the aim of informing future disaster preparedness and resilience.
HIST 1230: In U.S. history, racial differences and discrimination have powerfully shaped who benefited from land and farm ownership. How can historians use data to understand the history of race and farming? Students will wrangle county- and state-level data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture from 1840-1912 to create visualizations and apps that allow us to find patterns in the history of race and land, to discover new questions we might not know to ask, and to create tools to better reveal connections between race, land, and farming for a general audience.
STAT 1230: In this course students will dive into the world of data science by focusing on invasive species monitoring data. Early detection is crucial to controlling many invasive species; however, there is a knowledge gap regarding the sampling effort needed to detect the invader early. In this course, we will work with decades of invasive species monitoring data collected across the United States to better understand how environmental variables play a role in the sampling effort required to detect invasive species. Students will gain experience in the entire data science pipeline, but the primary focus will be on data scraping, data visualization, and communication of data-based results to scientists and policymakers.
SOCI 1230: Do sports fans care about climate change? Can sports communication be used to engage audiences on environmental sustainability? In this section of the course, students will use the tools of data science to examine whether interest in sports is associated with climate change knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, as well as other political opinions. Participants will use survey data to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses about the relationship between sports fandom and attitudes about environmental sustainability. DED, WTR (C. Schine, A. Lyford)
Program in Black Studies
BLST 0313 Race, Capitalism, Decolonization (Winter 2025)
What does race have to do with capitalism and profit, exploitation and dispossession? Drawing on contemporary fiction, poetry, and theory, we will consider the intersections of race and capitalism in shaping contemporary epistemologies, institutional practices, and lived experiences in local and global contexts. We will explore how present-day formations of race and capitalism are related to histories of imperialism and the global extraction of labor and resources. Decolonization implies a deep, complex, and multi-faceted process by which the discourses, knowledges, and practices at the core of capitalism and imperialism(s) and their mechanisms of oppression are challenged and dismantled. Please note that, if circumstances require, this course may occasionally be taught remotely.(Formerly ENAM 0313) CMP, SOC, WTR (Y. Siddiqi)Cross-listed as:
ENGL 0313 *
BLST 0399 Community-Engaged Work in Black Studies (Winter 2025)
Speaking of scholarship and activism, scholar and chronicler, Manning Marable, argued: “Scholars have an obligation not just to interpret, but to act.” In this experiential course, we will explore debates on and legacies in activism and action within Black Studies. Students will prepare for and thenparticipate in community-engaged activism which takes seriously the calls and debates within Black Studies to inform our knowledge through action and vice versa. The seminar component of the course will be used to reflect among peers on the dialogic relationship between theory and practice. Students' community work plans will be developed under the supervision of faculty. (For majors; requires instructor approval for others) 3 hrs. sem. WTR (V. Huang)
BLST 1152 Introduction to Swahili and East African Culture (Winter 2025)
This course introduces students to Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa. Students will acquire a foundation for speaking, reading, and writing Swahili, and will learn how to use it appropriately in East African culture. The use of English in the classroom will be kept to a minimum. The course also provides an introduction to the geography and history of East Africa. This course is particularly useful for students who intend to visit Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda, because its linguistic and cross-cultural training will give them the resources to maximize such an experience. This course counts as elective credit towards the African Studies minor.Dr. Waithera is an intellectual entrepreneur and an educator. She was the recipient of the 2010 Carolina Chiron Award for excellent teaching & dedication to students, an award inspired by the late Randy Pausch’s famous last lecture. Gave her own version of a last lecture entitled, “Humanizing the continent of Africa: Demystifying Myths & Stereotypes that Encroach it”. Her writings span diverse fields-The intersection of pathogens and women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, Gender, and African languages./ LNG, SAF, WTR (J. Msuya)
Cross-listed as:
INTD 1152
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
CHEM 0101 World of Chemistry (Winter 2025)
Science and technology greatly contribute to our happy and long lives. The goal of this course is to learn how chemistry impacts our daily lives in common and extraordinary ways. After learning basic concepts of elements, atoms, and molecules, we will explore topics in energy (nuclear, solar, batteries, fuel cells, fossil fuels, and metabolism), environmental issues (acid rain, global warming, and ozone depletion), health (food and drug), synthetic material, and art (color, forgery detection, and art restoration). SCI, WTR (S. Choi)CHEM 0500 Independent Study Project (Winter 2025)
Individual study for qualified students. (Approval required) WTRCHEM 0700 Senior Research (Winter 2025)
In this course students complete individual projects involving laboratory research on a topic chosen by the student and a faculty advisor. Prior to registering for CHEM 0700, a student must have discussed and agreed upon a project topic with a faculty member in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. Attendance at all Chemistry and Biochemistry Department seminars is expected. (Approval required; open only to seniors)CHEM 0701 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
Students who have initiated research projects in CHEM 0400 and who plan to complete a senior thesis should register for CHEM 0701. Students are required to write a thesis, give a public presentation, and defend their thesis before a committee of at least three faculty members. The final grade will be determined by the department. Attendance at all Chemistry and Biochemistry Department seminars is expected. (CHEM 0400; approval required)Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese Language & Literature
CHNS 0102 Beginning Chinese (Winter 2025)
An intensive continuation of CHNS 0101, this course is required of those wishing to take CHNS 0103 in the spring. Students may anticipate learning a significant amount of new vocabulary, sentence patterns and idiomatic expressions. Skits, oral presentations, writing assignments, and cultural activities are also part of this course. (CHNS 0101) LNG, WTR (M. Harris, K. Zhang, T. Moran)CHNS 0500 Senior Essay (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (297 seats)CHNS 0700 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval required)CHNS 0702 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval required). WTREve Adler Department of Classics and Program in Classical Studies
CLAS 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval required) WTRCLAS 0505 Ind Senior Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (J. Chaplin, P. Sfyroeras, C. Star, R. Ganiban)CLAS 0700 Senior Essay for Classics/Classical Studies Majors (Winter 2025)
(Approval required)LATN 0101 Beginning Latin I (Winter 2025)
The course offers an intensive introduction to the Latin language that prepares students to read the major authors of ancient Roman literature. In addition to their systematic study of grammar and syntax, students translate excerpts from Vergil, Seneca and the Vulgate Bible. This course is designed for students who have had no previous experience with Latin, as well as those who have had some Latin but want to review the fundamentals of grammar. LNG, WTR (C. Star, R. Ganiban)Program in Comparative Literature
CMLT 0200 Once Upon A Time ... Folk Fairy Tales Of The World (Winter 2025)
Tell me a story! We will examine the complex, inter-connected fairy tale traditions found in every society. Comparing fairy tale variants from around the world-including Japan, China, India, Near East, Africa-we will explore their convoluted and fertile relationships as observed in the rise of fairy tale collections in 15th-century Europe, reaching a culmination in the Brothers Grimm collection, often synonymous with the fairy tale itself. To attain a more dispassionate critical perspective we will explore theoretical approaches to the fairy tales through authors such as Zipes, Bottigheimer, Tatar, and Rölleke, and conclude by examining modern variants in prose, poetry, and film. (not open to students who have taken FYSE 1511) 3 hrs. lect. CMP, LIT, WTR (R. Russi)CMLT 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Approval Required WTRCMLT 0700 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
A senior thesis is normally completed over two semesters. During Fall and Winter terms, or Winter and Spring terms, students will write a 35-page (article length) comparative essay, firmly situated in literary analysis. Students are responsible for identifying and arranging to work with their primary language and secondary language readers, and consulting with the program director before completing the CMLT Thesis Declaration form. (Approval required.)Department of Computer Science
CSCI 0390 Spatial Agent-Based Modeling (Winter 2025)
In this course students will learn efficient data structures and design techniques for spatially-explicit agent-based modeling using the NetLogo programming language. Agent-based modeling techniques will be applied to problems in the social and natural sciences (such as graph pandemic modeling and population dynamics), mathematics and computational sciences (such as graph algorithms), and agent-based games. We will also explore some advanced programming features of NetLogo. We also discuss ethical aspects of computer simulation and how agent-based modeling might or might not fit in a framework of responsible computing.Students will design and implement a significant term software project. This course fulfills the Responsible Computing requirement for the Computer Science major. (CSCI 0201). DED, WTR (M. Dickerson)CSCI 0500 Advanced Study (Winter 2025)
Individual study for qualified students in more advanced topics in computer science theory, systems, or application areas. Particularly suited for students who enter with advanced standing. (Approval required) 3 hrs. lect. WTR (891 seats)CSCI 0702 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
The senior thesis is recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate study in Computer Science. Students will spend the semester researching and writing, and developing and experimenting as appropriate for their topic. All students will be expected to report on their work in the form of a written thesis, a poster, and an oral presentation at the end of the semester. In addition, throughout the semester, students will meet as a group to discuss research and writing, and will be expected to attend talks in the Computer Science lecture series. Before approval to join the class is granted, students are expected to have chosen a thesis adviser from the CSCI faculty, and determined a thesis topic with the guidance and approval of that adviser. (Approval required) 3 hrs. lect./disc.CSCI 1005 Crash Course in Systems Security (Winter 2025)
In this course students will learn the theory and practice of computer systems security. Morning lectures will be complemented by afternoon lab-sessions in which, under the close guidance of the instructor, students will complete both individual and group projects that will deepen their understanding of how (in)secure systems are implemented. Students will learn to use industry-standard tools for performing analysis of system vulnerabilities; be introduced to the systems security research landscape; and gain an understanding of ethical, political, and financial issues surrounding systems security research. (Approval required; CSCI 0202) DED, WTR (P. Johnson)CSCI 1051 Deep Learning (Winter 2025)
As data becomes ubiquitous and computing resources cheaper, many disciplines have turned to deep learning to solve complicated problems. While it has achieved remarkable success in a variety of "human" tasks, deep learning is often treated as a black-box. In this course, we will study deep learning from its foundations and build an intuitive understanding for why it works. Pairing lectures with labs, we will develop cutting-edge deep learning solutions to a variety of real-world problems. We will cover neural networks, convolutional networks designed for object detection, and recurrent networks used for natural language processing. We may also explore other topics including transformers, reinforcement learning, and generative adversarial networks subject to time and interest. (CSCI 0200, CSCI 0201, MATH 0200) DED, WTR (T. Witter)Program in Dance
DANC 0160 Introduction to Dance (Winter 2025)
This entry-level dance course introduces movement techniques, improvisation/composition, performance, experiential anatomy, and the history of dance. Students develop flexibility, strength, coordination, rhythm, and vocabulary in the modern idiom. Concepts of time, space, energy, and choreographic form are presented through improvisation and become the basis for a final choreographic project. Readings, research, and reflective and critical writing about dance performance round out the experience. 2 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab ART, PE, WTR (M. Chavez)DANC 0240 Writing the Body (Winter 2025)
In this course we will examine the dialogue between the language of the dancing body and the written word through the mediums of movement, contemplative practice, and creative writing, with a focus on poetry and spoken word. Our principal modalities of somatic investigation, textual analysis, reflective writing prompts, and a final performance project all serve to facilitate the discovery of authentic artistic expression in bridging body and voice. This is an experientially based seminar aimed at building a creative process: connecting the insights that emerge from physical discovery to the artful design of language. ART, PE, WTR (K. Borni)DANC 0381 Dance Company of Middlebury (Winter 2025)
Dance company of Middlebury (0381) is a continuation of Dance Company Lab (0380) taken in the fall. Both 0380 & 0381 are required to participate in the Dance Company of Middlebury. Dancers work with the artistic director and guest choreographer as part of a dance company, learning, interpreting, rehearsing, and performing repertory dances. Participants can expect daily rehearsals plus technique classes, campus performance, and a tour. Appropriate written work is required. Auditions are held in the spring semester for the next fall (DCM 0380). Approval Required; limited to sophomores through seniors by audition. PE, WTR (L. Jenkins)DANC 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (317 seats)DANC 0700 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (L. Jenkins)DANC 1016 Salsa Culture and Performance: Hybridity in Social Change (Winter 2025)
In this course we will learn beginner-level salsa technique: New York Mambo style, Caracas street style, as well as elements of Cuban Casino style. Students will master variations of the salsa basic step, turns, connecting steps, and arm work. Through the study of salsa’s history, political dimensions, lyrical content, and matrilineal legacy, students will develop an understanding of this artistic expression as a dance form, musical genre, and as a voice of resistance and liberation for Caribbean and Latino cultures. We will investigate the legacy of Celia Cruz, Gloria Stefan, Omara Portuondo, and La Lupe. Class discussions, brief writing assignments, and creative projects will serve as opportunities to reflect upon and expand our understanding of the form.Miguel Castillo Le Maitre is a dancer, choreographer, and performer from Caracas, Venezuela. He holds a bachelor’s degree in dance and theatre from Middlebury College, and an M.F.A in Choreography and performance from Smith College./ AMR, PE, WTR (M. Castillo Le Maitre)
Earth and Climate Sciences
ECSC 0500 Readings and Research (Winter 2025)
Individual or group independent study, laboratory or field research projects, readings and discussion of timely topics in earth and environmental science. (Approval only) (formerly GEOL 0500)ECSC 0700 Senior Thesis Research (Winter 2025)
Upon completion of ECSC 0400, all senior ECSC/GEOL majors will continue their independent senior thesis research by taking one unit of ECSC 0700. This research will culminate in a written thesis which must be orally defended. (Approval only) (formerly GEOL 0700)ECSC 1005 Geology of Rocky Planets (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will explore four rocky planets of the inner solar system (Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars) and the fundamental geologic processes acting on their surfaces (volcanism, tectonism, impact cratering, and erosion/degradation). We will study how these processes have interacted to form the surfaces we see today and what those processes mean for the interior evolution of rocky bodies. Furthermore, we will use the 2023-2032 Decadal Survey as a guiding document to identify existing knowledge gaps and explore priority targets for future space missions. Naturally, the processes and landforms we investigate will link back to first principles and fundamental concepts developed on Earth Given the condensed time frame of the January term, we will have smaller daily assignments (e.g., reading annotations), GIS activities using planetary data, and weekly assessments. A final project will invite students to select the mission that is most appealing to their group, with emphasis on the instrumentation necessary to address their knowledge gaps of interest. Students will apply the fundamental principles of earth and climate science learned in other courses, including but not limited to developing skills to critically analyze scientific data and literature, data analysis via geographic information systems, and effectively communicate their findings.(ECSC 0100 or PHYS 0100 or instructor approval) SCI, WTR (S. Peters)ECSC 1010 Telling Time with Geochronology (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore the field of geochronology: the methods by which the age of rocks and landforms are determined to illuminate the mysteries of ancient earth. Content will include understanding how rocks and landscapes form, as well as aspects of physical chemistry such as radioactive decay and mass spectrometry. Learning will occur through seminar-style discussions and hands-on lab work centered around a 4-week project using U-Pb dating to test hypotheses about the geologic history of Vermont. Students working in small groups will learn how to use instruments such as the scanning electron microscope and laser-ablation mass spectrometry. This course is nominally restricted to geology majors although other interested students are encouraged to contact the professor. SCI, WTR (W. Amidon)Department of Economics
ECON 0282 The Vermont Economy: Past and Present (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will study the economic forces shaping Middlebury College’s home state. We will use introductory-level theoretical and econometric tools to investigate the historical roots of key tensions in Vermont's economy, such as the changing agricultural sector, the impact of regulation, and Vermont’s evolving demographic profile. The narrative we construct will place Vermont within the broader context of American economic history. Students will complete an independent project studying some aspect of Vermont’s economy in historical context. (ECON 0150, ECON 0155, and ECON 0111) This course counts as elective credit towards the Economics major. AMR, HIS, SOC, WTR (A. Gregg)ECON 0500 Individual Special Project (Winter 2025)
If you choose to pursue an area that we do not offer or go in depth in an area already covered, we recommend the Individual Special Project option. These ECON 0500 proposals MUST be passed by the entire department and are to be submitted to the chair by the first Friday of fall and spring semester, respectively. The proposals should contain a specific description of the course contents, its goals, and the mechanisms by which goals are to be realized. It should also include a bibliography. According to the College Handbook, ECON 0500 projects are a privilege open to those students with advanced preparation and superior records in their fields. A student needs to have a 3.5 or higher G.P.A. in Economics courses taken at Middlebury in order to pursue an Individual Special Project. ECON 0500 does not count towards the major or minor requirements. WTR (1980 seats)ECON 0701 Senior Research Workshop I (Winter 2025)
In this first semester, students will design and begin their projects. Emphasis will be on designing a novel research question (while making the case for its importance) and an appropriate strategy for answering it. This requires immersion in the academic literature on the topic. General research principles and tools will be taught in class, as a group, while those specific to individual projects will be covered in one-on-one meetings. By the end of the term, students will outline their plan for completing the project, including demonstrating that it is a feasible research question for which the necessary information (e.g., data or source materials) is available or can be generated by the student (e.g., lab or other experiment). (Approval required) WTR (D. Munro, J. Maluccio, E. Gong)ECON 0702 Senior Research Workshop II (Winter 2025)
In this second semester of the senior research workshop sequence, the focus is on the execution of the research plan developed in ECON 0701. Most instruction is now one-on-one but the workshop will still meet as a group to discuss and practice the presentation of results in various formats (seminars, poster sessions, et cetera) to the rest of the workshop and others in the college and broader communities. Feedback and critiques from such presentations will be incorporated into the project, which will culminate in a research paper in the style of an economics journal article. (ECON 0701; Approval required) WTR (E. Wolcott)ECON 1023 Extending Financial Services to the Unbanked (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore different interventions and tools used for poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, and the extension of financial services to the unbanked poor in emerging markets. Using examples drawn from the field, we will look at the use of microfinance, microinsurance, and digital financial services to achieve these goals in developing countries. In addition to articles, the practitioner will draw on special guest speakers to represent case studies and themes from the course outline. (This course may be used to fulfill a 200-level elective towards the economics major requirements.)Elizabeth Toder began her international development adventure as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand 30 years ago and most recently served as the US Treasury Department’s Resident Advisor in Madagascar, advising the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank on financial inclusion./ SOC, WTR (E. Toder)
Cross-listed as:
IPEC 1023
ECON 1232 Health Care Law, Economics and Regulation (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore why health care is one of the most highly regulated industries in the U.S. and how government intervention impacts market outcomes. We will discuss how laws and regulation are used to contain health care costs, protect consumers from anti-competitive practices, and ensure consumer privacy and safety. We will rely on actual cases to understand legal frameworks, regulatory structures, and economic outcomes. Students may also have the opportunity to travel to Montpelier, VT to see health policy, legislation, and regulation in action. (ECON 0155 recommended but not required) (This course may be used to fulfill a 200 level elective towards the economics major requirements.)Robin J. Lunge, JD, MHCDS is a Member of Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board, which is charged with designing and administering health care payment and delivery system reform as well as regulating the health care industry. Previously Lunge served as Governor Shumlin’s Director of Health Care Reform for close to 6 years, coordinating health reform efforts for his administration. She also worked as a nonpartisan staff attorney at Vermont Legislative Council for 8 sessions and provided drafting and staff support in health and human services issues to members of the Vermont Legislature./ AMR, NOR, SOC, WTR (J. Holmes, R. Lunge)
Cross-listed as:
GHLT 1232
Program in Education Studies
EDST 0107 Introduction to TESOL (Winter 2025)
In this course we will study theories and practices relevant to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in the U.S. and abroad. We will examine curricular resources used with adolescent and adult learners, and practice developing materials applicable to a variety of classroom settings. We will also discuss critical issues in the field, such as linguistic prejudice, language maintenance, and social justice pedagogy. Class sessions are largely hands-on, and include student teaching demonstrations with peer feedback. Opportunities for community engagement are also available. The final project is a portfolio that includes a personal philosophy of teaching. (Not open to students who have taken LNGT/EDST 1003) WTR (J. McVeigh)Cross-listed as:
LNGT 0107 *
EDST 0317 Children & the Arts (Winter 2025)
This course will examine the integration of the arts in elementary curriculum. Students will teach standards-based lessons that include the literary, dance, theatre and visual arts. Activities will include art projects, sketch journals, reading assignments, and the exploration of community and teaching resources. Students will gain an understanding of the important role the arts integration and hands-on learning can play in the development and implementation of the curriculum. ART, WTR (C. Johnston)EDST 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTREDST 1010 Social Justice & Muslims in US (Winter 2025)
What is the role of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in shaping attitudes towards Muslims in America? How have Muslim Americans organized against marginalization and what are the implications of their activism for all Americans? Combining culturally relevant pedagogy and empirical research, this co-taught course will explore how Muslims have animated social justice in the American sphere through their activism in the civil rights era and in shaping current American culture and politics. Due attention will be given to approaches to Islamic spirituality and social action, as well as the lives of American Muslim communities that lie at the intersections of religion, race, class, gender, and geography. An essential aspect of the course is you! The collaborative teaching and learning will guide our explorations as we participate in pedagogies of care, community and inclusive education.Zahra Moeini Meybodi is the Associate Muslim Chaplain and Interfaith Advisor at Middlebury College, formerly lecturer at Hunter College CUNY.
/Khuram Hussain is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Education Studies at Middlebury College./ SOC, WTR (Z. Moeini Meybodi, K. Hussain)
EDST 1125 Introduction to Meditation (Winter 2025)
Basic sitting and walking meditation will be taught and intensively practiced. We will use the breath to foster relaxed attention and to gain perspective on our restless minds. Emphasis will be on using these techniques in daily life and academic endeavors. We will read texts from the contemporary American, Tibetan and Zen Buddhist traditions, but the meditation will be employed in nonsectarian fashion applicable to any belief system. Truth should be verified by one’s experience. Students will write papers and give presentations. No meditation experience necessary.John Huddleston retired from the Studio Art Program in 2017. For the last eight years he also taught mindfulness courses at the college./ AAL, NOA, PHL, WTR (J. Huddleston)
Cross-listed as:
INTD 1125 *
Department of English
CRWR 0560 Special Project: Creative Writing (Winter 2025)
Approval Required. WTR (D. Bain, R. Cohen, M. Mayhew-Bergman, K. Kramer, J. Parini, S. Ulmer, C. Wright, K. Gottshall, P. Lourie, T. Billings, D. Brayton)CRWR 1004 The Poetry Chapbook (Winter 2025)
In this course we will consider the form of the poetry chapbook. At around 15-30 pages (shorter than a full-length single-author collection of poetry), the chapbook is its own delightful form which often allows a poet to bring together a small set of poems that might share formal elements or might orbit a specific topic, theme, or narrative arc. Some chapbooks are more playful or experimental than the same poet’s full-length books. Some poets’ chapbooks become the seeds of future full-length books. In this course we will read and discuss an eclectic set of chapbooks by diverse contemporary poets, and we will work toward completing chapbooks of your own by the end of January, workshopping drafts along the way.Margaret Ray is the author of GOOD GRIEF, THE GROUND (BOA Editions, 2023), which won the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize and was a Lambda Literary Awards finalist. Her chapbook, SUPERSTITIONS OF THE MID-ATLANTIC was selected by Jericho Brown for the 2020 Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship Prize. She is a Middlebury alum./ WTR (M. Ray)
ENGL 0313 Race, Capitalism, Decolonization (Winter 2025)
What does race have to do with capitalism and profit, exploitation and dispossession? Drawing on contemporary fiction, poetry, and theory, we will consider the intersections of race and capitalism in shaping contemporary epistemologies, institutional practices, and lived experiences in local and global contexts. We will explore how present-day formations of race and capitalism are related to histories of imperialism and the global extraction of labor and resources. Decolonization implies a deep, complex, and multi-faceted process by which the discourses, knowledges, and practices at the core of capitalism and imperialism(s) and their mechanisms of oppression are challenged and dismantled. (Formerly ENAM 0313) (REC) CMP, SOC, WTR (Y. Siddiqi)Cross-listed as:
BLST 0313
ENGL 0500 Special Project: Literature (Winter 2025)
Approval Required. (Formerly ENAM 0500) WTR (99 seats)ENGL 0700 Senior Thesis: Critical Writing (Winter 2025)
Individual guidance and seminar (discussions, workshops, tutorials) for those undertaking one-term projects in literary criticism or analysis.ENGL 1011 Literary Remakes (Winter 2025)
Literature creates new worlds — and it recreates old ones. From Dante to Steinbeck, The Lord of the Rings to Clueless, writers are constantly rewriting stories. In this class, we will read some literary remakes and discuss what is at stake, and what is opened up, through adaptation and renewal. We will watch film adaptations and listen to song covers. Often, literary remakes give voice to characters from underrepresented demographics; we will discuss the pros and cons of these attempts, and we will attempt to create some of our own remakes. Texts will include selected poems written "after" other poems, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (King Lear)/, /Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (JaneEyre)/, /James by Percival Everett (Huckleberry Finn)/.
/Claire Hodgdon is a Brooklyn-based nonfiction writer with a BA from Middlebury and an MFA from Columbia. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Electric Literature, Longreads, and elsewhere./ LIT, WTR (C. Hodgdon)
ENGL 1014 Poetry and the Marine Environment (Winter 2025)
In this course we will read and discuss Anglophone poetry about the sea, from the Old English poem The Seafarer to Derek Walcott’s The Sea is History. Our two main goals will be to investigate how poets imagine the marine environment and to bring multiple interpretive approaches to bear on literary texts from different regions and traditions. These approaches will include formal, contextual, and theoretical methods of inquiry. We will read poems by a diversity of poets, including John Masefield, Rudyard Kipling, Adrienne Rich, Derek Walcott, and Mary Oliver. (formerly ENAM 1014) LIT, WTR (D. Brayton)ENGL 1015 When Truth Meets Craft: Practicing the Art of Literary Journalism (Winter 2025)
For a while, journalism has been trending away from "just the facts" to a more overtly crafted, subjective form. First-person journalism both reflects an awareness of the impossibility of objectivity and acknowledges the power of story to enliven data. When does the reporter's experience illuminate our reading of nonfiction, and when does it detract? Conversely, how does a writer infuse a personal narrative with relevant facts, signaling to the reader the contextual dance between the two? In this course students will learn and practice essential elements of powerful first-person journalism. Readings to inform discussions on craft, voice, stance and method include Ted Conover's, "The First Person in Journalism Must be Earned," as well as essays by Sy Montgomery, Drew Lanham, Kathryn Schulz, Hanif Abdurraqib, Leslie Jamison and David Foster Wallace.Helen Whybrow has a master's in journalism from Harvard and studied literature at Amherst College. She has been an editor for W.W. Norton and at Orion Magazine, and is currently editor-at-large for Milkweed Editions. She's working on her third book../ WTR (H. Whybrow)
ENGL 1022 Kafka and his Influence (Winter 2025)
This course is an intensive inquiry into the work and reach of Franz Kafka. In addition to reading his novels, his stories, his letters and diaries, and his aphorisms, we will take up some of the voluminous and often highly imaginative writings on Kafka, with an eye towards fashioning some ideas, and some writings, of our own. (This course is a junior/senior seminar for ENGL majors; others by instructor approval). (formerly ENAM 1022) EUR, LIT, PHL, WTR (R. Cohen)ENGL 1040 Poems, Poets, Poetry (Winter 2025)
Emily Dickinson declared, “if I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” In this introductory class we will encounter hair-raising poems from a wide variety of genres and historical eras in order to examine their structural forms, linguistic audacities, ideological captivities, and personal revelations. We will also read various poets’ meditations on their own craft, from which we will draw our own conclusions about what poems do, should, or might accomplish in the world. Our goal will always be to render poetry accessible, relevant, and enjoyable—to become confident readers of, and informed writers about, the diverse poetic utterance. LIT, WTR (C. Baldridge)ENGL 1050 Literature and the Visual Arts (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore the intersections of literary texts with the visual arts. What happens when literature tries to capture in words a visual image? What happens when a picture tries to tell a story? We will examine literary texts which respond directly to specific paintings as well as texts which are more broadly visual in their impact on readers; we will also look at hybrid texts like the graphic novel which include both words and images. Course readings will include poems, short stories, short novels, illustrated books, and graphic novels. We will also look at a wide range of paintings, sculptures, and other visual artifacts. (formerly ENAM 1050) LIT, WTR (A. Losano)Program in Environmental Studies
ENVS 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
In this course, students (non-seniors) carry out an independent research or creative project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty member with related expertise who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, must involve a significant amount of independent research and analysis. The expectations and any associated final products will be defined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students may enroll in ENVS 0500 no more than twice for a given project. (Approval only) WTRENVS 0700 Senior Independent Study (Winter 2025)
In this course, seniors complete an independent research or creative project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. During the term prior to enrolling in ENVS 0700, a student must discuss and agree upon a project topic with a faculty advisor who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program and submit a brief project proposal to the Director of Environmental Studies for Approval. The expectations and any associated final products will be defined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students may enroll in ENVS 0700 as a one-term independent study OR up to twice as part of a multi-term project, including as a lead-up to ENVS 0701 (ES Senior Thesis) or ENVS 0703 (ES Senior Integrated Thesis). (Senior standing; Approval only)ENVS 0701 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
This course is the culminating term of a multi-term independent project, resulting in a senior thesis on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. Approval to enroll is contingent on successful completion of at least one term (and up to two) of ENVS 0700 and the approval of the student’s thesis committee. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty advisor who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, will result in a substantial piece of scholarly work that will be presented to other ENVS faculty and students in a public forum and defended before the thesis committee. (Senior standing; ENVS major; ENVS 0112, ENVS 0211, ENVS 0215, GEOG 0120, and ENVS 0700; Approval only)ENVS 1046 Walking Body, Walking Mind: Philosophy on the Hoof (Winter 2025)
Walking upright with a bipedal gait emerged in early humans between 1.9 and 3.7 million years ago. For the last few millennia and across many cultures and traditions walking has accompanied and inspired human endeavors of the mind and spirit. In this course we will engage the literatures of walking in the humanities and natural/social sciences by reading and discussing excerpts from classic “walking” texts in philosophy, religion, and eco-spirituality, while also experiencing different modes of walking, including its social justice potential in resistance and reconciliation. Suitable footwear and clothing for walking/hiking in January in Vermont required. This course counts as a humanities cognate for Environmental Studies majors. PHL, WTR (B. Vitek)ENVS 1054 Contested Ecologies and Boundaries in Action: Invasive, Native, and Heritage Species (Winter 2025)
In this course, students will examine ideas about invasive species, delving into the complex, contested relationships between control over nature and differing human perspectives on natural and national landscapes. We will read natural and social science literature and policies that govern land management. Students will analyze “invasive,” "native," and "heritage" designations, examine how these beliefs drive landscape restoration projects, and consider tradeoffs between “managing against” and “managing for.” Through field trips, conversations with conservation practitioners, and case studies, students will gain an applied understanding of the interplay between human beliefs and control over land. ENVS majors with a focus in the humanities/arts or natural sciences may count this course as a cognate requirement for the major.Katie Michels ‘14.5 is a Masters of Environmental Science and MBA candidate at the Yale School of the Environment and Yale School of Management. She studied Geography and Environmental Studies at Middlebury, and is interested in land conservation and land stewardship, especially on working lands.
Jesse Callahan Bryant is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the Yale School of the Environment. His research interests revolve around the intersection of conservative thought and the environment, with a particular emphasis on the emergence of ecofascism. Specifically, he explores the complex relationship between conservative ideology and environmentalism, and how far-right movements are currently utilizing environmental discourse to advance their agendas./ SCI, WTR (K. Michels, J. Bryant)
ENVS 1056 Regenerative Economics & Culture (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore the emerging paradigm of regenerative economics – the design of economies based on a living systems framework. We will begin by investigating the root causes of the polycrisis – the confluence of climate change, rising inequality, social unrest, pandemics among others. We will look at the underlying assumptions behind economic growth, and where these beliefs originated. We will explore John Fullerton’s Eight Principles of Regenerative Vitality and learn how to apply them to economies and organizations. Throughout the course we will hear from guest lecturers and business leaders who are at the forefront of this global transformation, including John Fullerton, President of the Capital Institute. We will conclude with an exploration into the cultural transformation and mindset shift required to transition to an economic system that is regenerative and therefore sustainable in the long-term. This course builds on the concepts of environmental economics.This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.
Lynelle Cameron is a globally recognized business leader in sustainability, a Regenerative Economics Fellow with the Capital Institute and a Partner supporting a new initiative called Regenerative California. As an advisor, board member, investor, tech executive, and founding CEO, Lynelle has 20+ years of leadership experience in the corporate sector, and 10 in the nonprofit sector. Lynelle is a graduate of Middlebury College WTR (L. Cameron)
ENVS 1057 Developing a Solar Project (Winter 2025)
Despite a rise in political and social support for decarbonizing the electric grid in the US, many renewable energy projects are canceled early in development due to profitability risks. In this course, we will roleplay employees of a solar developer, investigating potential new solar projects for the company and recommending whether it should be built or canceled. As we learn the factors affecting a project from reading press releases, news articles, and introductory books, students will develop an Excel model that incorporates these changes in energy production, prices, development limitations, costs, tax requirements, and federal subsidies. This hands-on workshop will culminate with students in teams presenting their recommendation for the future of the project. This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.Caroline Nevada ‘17.5 is a renewables expert with 6 years of project finance experience at start-ups, established developers, and public corporations. She heads the financial valuation of the US offshore wind portfolio of Ørsted, the world’s #1 offshore wind developer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is also dedicated to elevating the voices of women in the industry and has served for 4 years on the Board of Directors of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability. Caroline studied Mathematics at Middlebury./ WTR (C. Nevada)
ENVS 1058 Reading the Arctic (Winter 2025)
Through a close reading of Barry Lopez’s landmark book Arctic Dreams, students will examine cultural representations of the far north from the “age of exploration” to the present. In this course we will challenge depictions of the region as an unchanging, sterile landscape and at the same time interrogate why such perceptions have been so persistent. Special attention will be paid to how resource extraction and economic development have shaped our ideas about the Arctic. Students will engage with works by Bathsheba Demuth, Tom Kizzia, and Thomas Berger. Films, photographs, and contemporary television series set in the Arctic will also be discussed as students, through short writings and group projects, gain a deeper understanding of this rich and varied landscape. This course counts as a humanities cognate for environmental studies majors.Adam Federman is a reporting fellow with Type Investigations and an award winning environmental journalist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Wired, Politico Magazine and other publications. His first book, Fasting and Feasting: The Life of Visionary Food Writer Patience Gray, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2017 and a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize in biography./ WTR (A. Federman)
ENVS 1060 What on Earth is Environmental Studies Teaching You? (Winter 2025)
The task of teaching about contemporary ecological crises, from global warming to global biodiversity loss, presents a vital educational challenge. Instructors across diverse subdisciplines of environmental studies (ES) are now revisiting fundamental questions concerning what to teach, how to teach, and even why to teach as their traditional subject matter transforms around them. In this course, we will investigate how ES educators and ES students are together grappling with the implications of what they are studying. Teams of students will carry out collaborative research projects analyzing these questions in the context of Middlebury’s very own ES program. Through direct engagements with current and past ES students and faculty, comparisons with other institutions, and targeted course readings exploring key facets of this bewildering “learning challenge,” we will begin to imagine what an education truly proportionate to the radical implications of this fateful planetary moment might look like. This course counts as a social science cognate for Environmental Studies majors./ SOC, WTR (D. Suarez)Department of Film & Media Culture
FMMC 0209 Global Auteurs: Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho (Winter 2025)
In this course we will survey the careers of prominent Korean auteurs Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho. We will analyze the films they've directed and/or produced thus far, focusing on each filmmaker's unique artistic style, the cinematic traditions they draw on, and their works' transnational appeal. In addition to delving into specific relevant topics (aesthetics of violence, genre hybridity, postcolonial cinema, stardom, adaptation, etc.), we will pay special attention to changing modes of production and distribution that have impacted the two auteurs' work process and their global reach. Films screened include Joint Security Area, The Vengeance Trilogy, The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave (Park); Memories of Murder, The Host, Snowpiercer, Okja, Parasite (Bong). ART, NOA, WTR (N. Dobreva)FMMC 0507 Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture (Winter 2025)
Consult with a Film and Media Culture faculty member for guidelines. WTR (I. Uricaru, D. Miranda Hardy, N. Clark, C. Keathley, J. Mittell, L. Stein, N. Ngaiza)FMMC 0701 Senior Projects (Winter 2025)
Students may enroll in this project-based independent credit to complete the thesis work started in the fall. Requires faculty approval based on satisfactory progress in the Senior Tutorial. Projects will include a public presentation at the end of Winter or beginning of Spring term.FMMC 0707 Senior Independent Work (Winter 2025)
After completing FMMC 0700, seniors may be approved to complete the project they developed during the previous Fall semester by registering for this independent course during the Winter Term, typically supervised by their faculty member from FMMC 0700. Students will complete an independent project in a choice of medium and format, as outlined on the departmental website. This course does not count toward the required number of credits for majors, but is required to be considered for departmental honors. In exceptional cases, students may petition to complete their projects during Spring semester.FMMC 1020 Collaborative Video Projects (Winter 2025)
In this course students will learn to work collaboratively either as crew members on the senior thesis films produced for FMMC 0701 or on original projects, depending on availability of resources. Students will receive credit for performing in key creative positions, including Producer, Assistant Director, Cinematographer, Art director, Sound Designer, and Editor. In this class students will learn advanced set operations, while workshopping projects from pre-production to main photography to editorial, post-production and the final screening. Students must do significant pre-production before January. (Honors Pass/Fail; Approval required) WTR (N. Ngaiza)FMMC 1030 Video Editing Fundamentals (Winter 2025)
In this workshop course we will explore the theory, mechanics, conventions and aesthetics of video editing. Students will learn the mechanics of the Premier editing platform and be led through a series of assignments focused on various challenges faced by film editors. Students will learn how to get the most out of a narrative performance by using camera angles, edit lengths, and body gestures to create a purposeful flow of action. They will learn to create energy and rhythm in music videos by controlling pace, shot selection, and movements within a clip. Students will edit professionally shot dailies to complete four editing assignments, two narrative and two music videos. There will also be reading assignments, Adobe Editing tutorial assignments, and one Editing Analysis presentation.After graduating from Middlebury, Bee Ottinger went to California Institute of Art and became a video editor for 35 years. She had a small video editing company when music videos started in the 80’s and rode the wave of the evolution of a new way of editing. She has been teaching video editing for ten years./ WTR (B. Ottinger)
FMMC 1034 Current Affairs Documentary Film (Winter 2025)
In this course we will learn the fundamentals of making a current affairs documentary film. We will chart the path from story identification and pitch to developing sources, investigation, the ethics of news gathering, interview craft, filmic style, structuring, and writing. There will be units on each. We will watch and analyze different styles of current affairs documentary making. Students will participate in hands on writing workshops and will each come up with a documentary project outline, providing a storyboarded visual treatment, a shoot schedule and a draft script.Hilary Andersson is an award-winning journalist and documentary maker who spent 25 years with the BBC, covering wars in Africa and the Middle East and later working for the BBC’s flagship Panorama documentary program. Hilary is now based in Vermont, from where she travels and continues to make current affairs documentaries on American and international affairs./ WTR (H. Andersson)
FMMC 1037 American Experimental Film (Winter 2025)
In this course we will survey the varied films that have made up the American avant-garde since 1943. Drawing on theories of spectatorship, we will consider how experimental films challenge viewers through form and content. Special attention will be given to critical consideration of the avant-garde’s relationship with the more commercial cinema of Hollywood. Filmmakers discussed will include Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Shirley Clarke, Andy Warhol, Marlon Riggs, George Kuchar, Cheryl Dunye, Su Friedrich, and Kevin Jerome Everson. In watching and discussing these works, we will trace a material history of the avant-garde, from 16mm and video, to digital cinema and machinima, drawing through lines from the underground avant-garde of the 20th century to the pervasive remix culture of today.Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic and researcher, completing his PhD in the School for Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in publications including Senses of Cinema, Millennium Film Journal, and Cineaste, where he is an assistant editor./ ART, WTR (W. DiGravio)
Food Studies Minor
FOOD 1005 Endangered Food (Winter 2025)
We walk into a grocery store and perceive a large variety of food choices. At the same time, we are told western diets are unhealthy and “homogenous.” What does this “homogeneity” refer to? And, does it apply to those of us who strive to consume “balanced” diets? In this course, we will explore the contrast between modern dietary homogeneity and the history and diversity of ancient foods. In addition to reading social science literature and case studies, we will take a practical approach to exploring course themes by meeting with farmers and naturalists aiming to preserve, and return to, diverse and wild food systems. For their final projects, students will undertake a project centering a native foodway.Alexa Duchesneau is a fifth year Anthropology PhD candidate at Yale University. She studies the nutritional ecology of human and non-human primates./ SOC, WTR (A. Duchesneau)
Cross-listed as:
ANTH 1005
FOOD 1023 Anthropology of Meat: Why Humans Consume Other Animals (Winter 2025)
Why are some animals taboo to eat? Can it be ethical to eat meat (and how is “ethical” defined)? In this course, we will explore meat eating practices around the world, focusing on issues like sustainability, race, and gender. Key texts include Nadasdy's 2007 article "The Gift in the Animal," Boisseron's Afro-Dog (2018), Adams' The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990), and Ko's Racism as Zoological Witchcraft (2019). Through a variety of texts, films, and guest speakers--including food discrimination lawyer Thulasi Raj and Vermont slaughterer Mary Lake--we will explore our own relationships to meat eating, while questioning what it means to be human. This course does not seek to persuade you towards or away from vegetarianism; all experiences are welcome.Amanda Kaminsky is a PhD Candidate in Sociocultural Anthropology at the University of Michigan and an alumna of Middlebury College (Class of 2013, B.A. Chinese)./ CMP, SOC, WTR (A. Kaminsky)
Cross-listed as:
ANTH 1023 *
Lois ’51 and J. Harvey Watson Department of French and Francophone Studies
FREN 0102 Beginning French (Winter 2025)
This course is a continuation of FREN 0101, dealing with more complex French. Oral skills are stressed and students participate in the French language table at lunch. This course does not fulfill the foreign language distribution requirement. (FREN 0101) WTR (P. Tarjanyi, E. Munier)FREN 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
Qualified students may be permitted to undertake a special project in reading and research under the direction of a member of the department. Students should seek an advisor and submit a proposal to the department well in advance of registration for the term in which the work is to be undertaken. (Approval required) WTRFREN 0700 Senior Honors Essay (Winter 2025)
For this one-term course, qualified senior majors who wish to be considered for Honors in French must submit a proposal well in advance of registration for the term in which the work is to be undertaken. (Approval required; see requirements.)FREN 0701 Senior Honors Thesis (Winter 2025)
Qualified senior majors who wish to be considered for Honors in French must submit a proposal well in advance of registration for the term in which the work is to be undertaken. (Approval required; see requirements above.)Program in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies
GSFS 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval required) WTRGSFS 0700 Senior Essay (Winter 2025)
(Approval required)GSFS 0710 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval required)GSFS 1009 Gender-based Violence and Health (Winter 2025)
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a persistent human rights and public health crisis rooted in gender inequality, power, and other forms of oppression. It disproportionately affects women, one-third of whom have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime. We will study the causes and prevalence of GBV, the adverse health/social consequences, the policy and programmatic response to GBV, and the crucial role feminists and activists have played in calling attention to this problem. We will focus on weekly cases, including prevention work on U.S. college campuses, health policy and system response to intimate partner violence in Mexico, how reproductive coercion is being addressed in family planning clinics in Kenya, and GBV and the political agenda in Nepal.Sophie Morse, PhD, MPP (Middlebury '11), is a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco trained in public health and public policy. She has worked on gender-based violence and health for over ten years as a researcher and advocate./ SOC, WTR (S. Morse)
GSFS 1012 Effortless Perfection, Mental Health, and the Female Collegiate Experience (Winter 2025)
In this course, students will explore numerous gendered issues including self-esteem, confidence, assertiveness, body image and disordered eating, hook-up culture and sexual power dynamics, mental health, and identity. They will examine these issues through the lens of “Effortless Perfection” – a term coined by the 2003 Duke University Women’s Initiative to describe the “expectation” that female undergrads “be smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful, and popular, and that all this would happen without visible effort.” The class will be structured in accordance with the instructor’s recently released book, The Effortless Perfection Myth. Assignments will include a series of reflections and a final paper wherein students will use their personal experiences to write the chapter they feel is missing from the book.Cara Peterson graduated from the Bread Loaf School of English in 2023. WTR (C. Peterson)
Department of Geography
GEOG 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
A one-credit intensive research project developed under the direction of a faculty member. Junior majors only. (Approval Required) WTR (693 seats)GEOG 0700 Senior Research (Winter 2025)
A one-credit intensive research project developed under the direction of a faculty member. Senior majors only. (Approval Required)GEOG 0701 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
Students with a departmental GPA of 3.3 or higher are eligible to complete a two-credit senior thesis. In order to complete a senior thesis, students must have a proposal approved by a primary thesis advisor and a secondary departmental reader prior to registering for the first 0701 credit. Upon completion of the thesis, thesis students will present their work in a public seminar and defend the thesis in front of the departmental faculty. Thesis presentations and defenses will typically take place during the final week of classes or the examination period. Upon completion of the presentation and defense, the primary advisor and secondary departmental reader will be responsible for evaluating and grading the thesis. It is strongly encouraged that students considering a thesis discuss their ideas with an advisor during the semester prior to registering for formal thesis credits. (Approval only)GEOG 1009 Spaces of Exception (Winter 2025)
A multidisciplinary course, using the tools of geography, architecture, sociology, and political science, looking at spaces around the world that are set apart – legally, socially, and infrastructurally – from their surrounding environments. These spaces include refugee camps, American Indian reservations, migrant detention centers, Guantanamo Bay, autonomous zones, gated communities and government housing, concentration and internment camps, etc. Drawing on philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Carl Schmitt, and Walter Benjamin who theorized the term “state of exception”, we will use a spatial lens to study cases from around the world, past and present. How were these spaces formed, why do they exist, and what do they tell us, both about themselves and the world that surrounds them?Matt Peterson directed the documentary features Scenes from a Revolt Sustained (2015) and Spaces of Exception (2019), and co-edited the books In the Name of the People (2018), The Mohawk Warrior Society (2022), and The Reservoir (2022). He is an organizer at Woodbine, an experimental space in New York City.
Malek Rasamny directed the documentary Spaces of Exception (2019), and co-edited the book The Mohawk Warrior Society (2022). He is currently a doctoral candidate at Paris Nanterre University where he is researching the social phenomenon of reincarnation amongst the Druze of Lebanon./ SOC, WTR (M. Peterson, M. Rasamny)
GEOG 1230 Data Science Across Disciplines (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning, large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Biology, Geography, History, Mathematics/Statistics and Sociology. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.BIOL 1230: Students enrolled in Professor Casey’s (Biology) afternoon section will use the tools of data science to investigate the drivers of tick abundance and tick-borne disease risk. To do this students will draw from a nation-wide ecological database.
GEOG 1230: In this section, we will investigate human vulnerability to natural hazards in the United States using location-based text data about hurricane and flood disasters from social media. We will analyze data qualitatively, temporally, and spatially to gain insights into the human experience of previous disasters and disaster response. We will present findings using spatial data visualizations with the aim of informing future disaster preparedness and resilience.
HIST 1230: In U.S. history, racial differences and discrimination have powerfully shaped who benefited from land and farm ownership. How can historians use data to understand the history of race and farming? Students will wrangle county- and state-level data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture from 1840-1912 to create visualizations and apps that allow us to find patterns in the history of race and land, to discover new questions we might not know to ask, and to create tools to better reveal connections between race, land, and farming for a general audience.
STAT 1230: In this course students will dive into the world of data science by focusing on invasive species monitoring data. Early detection is crucial to controlling many invasive species; however, there is a knowledge gap regarding the sampling effort needed to detect the invader early. In this course, we will work with decades of invasive species monitoring data collected across the United States to better understand how environmental variables play a role in the sampling effort required to detect invasive species. Students will gain experience in the entire data science pipeline, but the primary focus will be on data scraping, data visualization, and communication of data-based results to scientists and policymakers.
SOCI 1230: Do sports fans care about climate change? Can sports communication be used to engage audiences on environmental sustainability? In this section of the course, students will use the tools of data science to examine whether interest in sports is associated with climate change knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, as well as other political opinions. Participants will use survey data to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses about the relationship between sports fandom and attitudes about environmental sustainability. DED, WTR (J. Holler, A. Lyford)
Department of German
GRMN 0102 Beginning German Continued (Winter 2025)
This course is the intensive continuation of GRMN 0101 which will further the development of your language skills in an immersion-like environment, and will include bi-weekly cultural readings in English. Classes meet for two hours each morning, then lunch at the language tables, in addition to afternoon and evening activities (e.g. film screenings). Completion of this course is a prerequisite to enrollment in GRMN 0103. (GRMN 0101 or equivalent) LNG, WTR (F. Feiereisen, T. Preston)GRMN 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval only) WTRGRMN 0700 Honors Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval only)Cross-listed as:
GRMN 0800
GRMN 1022 Kafka and his Influence (Winter 2025)
This course is an intensive inquiry into the work and reach of Franz Kafka. In addition to reading his novels, his stories, his letters and diaries, and his aphorisms, we will take up some of the voluminous and often highly imaginative writings on Kafka, with an eye towards fashioning some ideas, and some writings, of our own. (This course is a junior/senior seminar for ENGL majors; others by instructor approval). (formerly ENAM 1022) EUR, LIT, PHL, WTR (R. Cohen)Global Health Minor
GHLT 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)GHLT 1005 Arts-Based Health Comm (Winter 2025)
In this class, we will learn about and practice arts-based ethnography, digital storytelling, and comics-based research drawing from the fields of fine arts, public health, anthropology, graphic medicine, and medical Humanities/narrative medicine. We’ll study strategies for using story in all its forms to improve health outcomes at individual, community, and structural levels, the evidence for arts-based praxes in the social sciences and beyond, and we’ll collect and examine work from fine artists, disability activists, poets, painters, graphic novelists, and wherever else health-driven narratives exist—including those you will make in this class. Come prepared to read and create across many genres and explore how story is the vehicle for transformation: of us, of our systems, and of our wellbeing.Jessamyn Smyth is a writer, digital artist, and professor of interdisciplinary Humanities and public health. She has particular interest in medical Humanities, arts-based ethnography, and public health communication./ WTR (J. Smyth)
GHLT 1016 Pandemic Preparedness and Response (Winter 2025)
This course will examine the history of pandemics, beginning with the 1918 Influenza. The class will look at how individual countries were prepared for Covid19 (or not), and how they responded, how the global system for pandemic preparedness under the guidance of the WHO performed, and whether the lessons we drew from the Covid19 Pandemic experience will leave us better prepared for the next pandemic. In the case of the US, we will look at differential health outcomes for marginalized and other communities. Additional topics in this course will include healthcare ethics in the face of rationing; ethics and the global allocation of vaccines and therapeutics; global treaties governing pharmaceutical patents; and how politics plays a role in the dissemination of information vital for country response to outbreaks of concern, epidemics, and pandemics. SOC, WTR (D. Torres, W. Hathaway)GHLT 1224 Empowerment or Exploitation? Engaging Communities in the Pursuit of Better Health (Winter 2025)
Sustained progress in global health and development requires the participation of target communities. Vaccines, for instance, will themselves do no good if caregivers refuse to vaccinate their children. In this course, we will explore the role of communities in the pursuit of improved health – a state often pre-defined by outsiders without direct community consultation. The course will focus specifically on the evolving role of community health workers within global health and development agendas, emphasizing therein the fine line we tread (as global health policy makers, implementers, and donors) between empowering and exploiting the communities on whose participation our success relies. (not open to students who have taken INTD 1224)Since 2009, Harriet has studied, supported, and advocated for community health systems across the globe, focusing on community health policy, design, implementation, and financing. In her current role on the global malaria team at Clinton Health Access Initiative, Harriet supports countries across sub-Saharan Africa, the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and Mesoamerica to holistically engage community health worker networks as key partners in the fight to eliminate malaria and improve access to basic health services. Harriet holds a Master of Science in Public Health with a focus on community health systems from Johns Hopkins University, and a BA in anthropology from Middlebury College./ SOC, WTR (H. Napier)
Cross-listed as:
ANTH 1224 *
GHLT 1232 Health Care Law, Economics and Regulation (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore why health care is one of the most highly regulated industries in the U.S. and how government intervention impacts market outcomes. We will discuss how laws and regulation are used to contain health care costs, protect consumers from anti-competitive practices, and ensure consumer privacy and safety. We will rely on actual cases to understand legal frameworks, regulatory structures, and economic outcomes. Students may also have the opportunity to travel to Montpelier, VT to see health policy, legislation, and regulation in action. (ECON 0155 recommended but not required) (This course may be used to fulfill a 200 level elective towards the economics major requirements.)Robin J. Lunge, JD, MHCDS is a Member of Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board, which is charged with designing and administering health care payment and delivery system reform as well as regulating the health care industry. Previously Lunge served as Governor Shumlin’s Director of Health Care Reform for close to 6 years, coordinating health reform efforts for his administration. She also worked as a nonpartisan staff attorney at Vermont Legislative Council for 8 sessions and provided drafting and staff support in health and human services issues to members of the Vermont Legislature./ AMR, NOR, SOC, WTR (R. Lunge, J. Holmes)
Cross-listed as:
ECON 1232 *
Hebrew Minor
HEBM 0102 Introductory Modern Hebrew II (Winter 2025)
This course is an intensive continuation of Modern Hebrew 0101. Students will expand their knowledge of Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, will increase their proficiency in oral communication, and will study selections of both audio and visual media related to modern-day Israel. (HEBM 0101 or by permission) 10 hrs. lect. LNG, WTR (M. Strier)HEBM 0104 The US-Israel Relationship (Winter 2025)
The US-Israel Relationship: Past, Present and Future*Since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, the alliance between the United States and Israel has grown both stronger and more controversial. In this course, we will examine the history of the special relationship between the two countries with attention focused on its religious, cultural, political and strategic dimensions. Topics will include Christian Zionism, American Jewish politics, Israel-Palestine conflict, the Israel Lobby, global geopolitics, and contemporary social movements. Course materials will include lectures, reading assignments and documentary films. All students will complete and present research about a contemporary advocacy campaign meant to influence US policy toward Israel, Palestine and/or the Middle East. MDE, SOC, WTR (T. Sasson)
Cross-listed as:
JWST 0104 *
HEBM 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRDepartment of History
HIST 0500 Special Research Projects (Winter 2025)
Special research projects may only be taken during the Junior or Senior year, preferable after taking HIST 0600. Approval of department chair and project advisor is required. WTRHIST 0700 Senior Independent Study I (Winter 2025)
The optional History Senior Thesis is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. Approval is required. Students submit thesis proposals in the spring before the year that they choose to write their thesis. Students generally begin their thesis in the fall and complete it during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring. All students must attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops in fall and winter semesters and work with a faculty advisor to complete a 55-70 page paper. Please see detailed guidelines under history requirements.HIST 0701 Senior Independent Study II (Winter 2025)
With departmental approval, senior history majors may write a two-term thesis under an advisor in the area of their choosing. The final grade is applied to both terms. Students must submit thesis proposals in the spring before the academic year that they choose to write their thesis. They must attend the Thesis Writers' Workshops held in the fall and winter of the academic year in which they begin the thesis. The department encourages students to write theses during the fall (0700) and winter terms (0701), but with the permission of the chair, fall/spring and winter/spring theses are also acceptable. Under exceptional circumstances, the department may approve a thesis initiated in the spring of an academic year and finished in the fall of the following year. Further information about the thesis is available from the department.HIST 1034 Catastrophic Memories (Winter 2025)
How do people remember traumatic events? How do those memories impact American politics and priorities in the present? How might they guide goals for the future? And what roles can History play in that process? In this course we will examine how two great catastrophes—the American Civil War and the Second World War—have been remembered over time and space. We will consider what roles those historical memories play in American society, how our collective memories are formed, and what makes them change. To do so, we will consider a broad range of sources—major films, historical fiction, popular non-fiction, and historical scholarship. Students end by examining one facet or feature of these historical memories of their choosing.Connor Williams (Middlebury '08.5) is a historian, speaker, writer, and consultant. In 2021 and 2022 he served the United States Congress as Lead Historian for its Naming Commission, removing Confederate honors from all Army Forts and Department of Defense assets, while leading nationwide discussions on the historic roles that the American Civil War has played, could play, and perhaps should play in our historic memory. As a consultant, he has worked with many organizations on how to ethically and effectively reconcile and repair their difficult and complex institutional legacies of enslavement, white supremacy, and historical violence, including at Yale University and Sewanee: The University of the South. He is currently writing two books of popular history, both under contract with St. Martin’s Press in New York./ AMR, HIS, WTR (C. Williams)
HIST 1040 Nietzsche on Art, Poetry, Music: Origins and Influences (Winter 2025)
In this intensive reading course we will examine the widespread influences of Nietzsche’s philosophy of art, poetry, and music on European and Eurasian philosophy and culture. We will explore both Nietzsche’s inheritances from ancient Greek thought and contested legacies for culture and politics across Europe and Eurasia in the Twentieth Century. Readings will be selected from Nietzsche’s primary works (The Birth of Tragedy, Thus Spoke Zarathustra and others) as well as the creative output of his intellectual disciples and detractors. We will begin with an analysis of selected works from ancient Greek tragedy and philosophy that most influenced the philosopher, and then turn to a close study of Nietzsche’s own writings. We will conclude by exploring philosophical, musical, and artistic works inspired by Nietzsche’s ideas. EUR, HIS, PHL, WTR (R. Mitchell, M. Woodruff)Cross-listed as:
PHIL 1040
HIST 1230 Data Science Across Disciplines (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning, large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Biology, Geography, History, Mathematics/Statistics and Sociology. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.BIOL 1230: Students enrolled in Professor Casey’s (Biology) afternoon section will use the tools of data science to investigate the drivers of tick abundance and tick-borne disease risk. To do this students will draw from a nation-wide ecological database.
GEOG 1230: In this section, we will investigate human vulnerability to natural hazards in the United States using location-based text data about hurricane and flood disasters from social media. We will analyze data qualitatively, temporally, and spatially to gain insights into the human experience of previous disasters and disaster response. We will present findings using spatial data visualizations with the aim of informing future disaster preparedness and resilience.
HIST 1230: In U.S. history, racial differences and discrimination have powerfully shaped who benefited from land and farm ownership. How can historians use data to understand the history of race and farming? Students will wrangle county- and state-level data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture from 1840-1912 to create visualizations and apps that allow us to find patterns in the history of race and land, to discover new questions we might not know to ask, and to create tools to better reveal connections between race, land, and farming for a general audience.
STAT 1230: In this course students will dive into the world of data science by focusing on invasive species monitoring data. Early detection is crucial to controlling many invasive species; however, there is a knowledge gap regarding the sampling effort needed to detect the invader early. In this course, we will work with decades of invasive species monitoring data collected across the United States to better understand how environmental variables play a role in the sampling effort required to detect invasive species. Students will gain experience in the entire data science pipeline, but the primary focus will be on data scraping, data visualization, and communication of data-based results to scientists and policymakers.
SOCI 1230: Do sports fans care about climate change? Can sports communication be used to engage audiences on environmental sustainability? In this section of the course, students will use the tools of data science to examine whether interest in sports is associated with climate change knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, as well as other political opinions. Participants will use survey data to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses about the relationship between sports fandom and attitudes about environmental sustainability. DED, WTR (K. Morse, A. Lyford)
Department of History of Art & Architectural Studies
HARC 0130 Introduction to Architectural Design (Winter 2025)
Are you fascinated by buildings and interested in trying your hand at architectural design? This course will introduce you to principles of architecture and teach you the skills architects use to explore and communicate design ideas. We will consider urban and rural settings, sustainability, energy efficiency, functionality, comfort, and the role architecture plays in shaping community. Classroom instruction by a practicing architect will provide hands-on drawing, model-making, and materials research. Students will work to analyze existing buildings and design their own. Students seeking to improve their understanding of the built environment as well to develop their design-mind to reconcile social-ecological challenges are encouraged to take this course. No prior experience is needed. ART, WTR (A. Pauchet, B. Allred)HARC 0279 Curatorial Practicum: Piranesi as Archaeologist, Architect, and Artist (Winter 2025)
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian,1720-1778) was a visionary archaeologist, architect, and artist active in eighteenth-century Rome. His work continues to captivate contemporary audiences with his grandiose and often imaginary depictions of architecture old and new, ranging from Classical Antiquity to his own Age of the Enlightenment, and anticipating Romanticism and even a distopian future. In this curatorial practicum/seminar, we will study Piranesi’s momentous output in drawings, prints, and sculpture, investigate his quixotic artistic persona, and assess his relevance today. We will curate an online and/or museum exhibition on the artist’s artistic and intellectual output and will conceptualize its organization and layout, generate contextual and object labels, and prepare educational materials.(HARC 0100, HARC 0259, or prior permission.) ART, CW, EUR, HIS, WTR (P. Broucke)HARC 0510 Advanced Studies (Winter 2025)
Supervised independent work in art history, museum studies, or architectural studies. (Approval Required) WTR (P. Broucke, R. Saunders, E. Vazquez, C. Anderson, G. Andres, C. Packert, K. Hoving, A. Kerz-Murray, S. Laursen, E. Garrison)HARC 0530 Independent Architect. Design (Winter 2025)
Supervised independent work in architectural analysis and design. (Approval Required) WTR (P. Broucke, E. Sassin, S. Pottorf, D. Houghton)HARC 0711 Senior Thesis: Research and Writing (Winter 2025)
This course is a continuation of HARC 0710 which consists of ongoing, supervised independent research, plus organizing, writing and presenting a senior thesis. (HARC 0301 and HARC 0710). WTR (E. Vazquez)HARC 0732 Thesis in Architectural Studies: Design (Winter 2025)
This studio course constitutes the second part of the two-term senior design project in Architectural Studies. Building upon the architectural research, analysis, and preliminary design work conducted during the fall semester, students develop their thesis projects to a higher level of understanding and refinement. Students also engage in intense peer review and work with visiting design critics, concluding with public presentations of the final projects, and a project portfolio describing all aspects of the completed design. (HARC 0731) 6 hrs. sem. WTR (M. Kaplan, T. Sweeny)HARC 0761 Senior Thesis: Museum Studies (Winter 2025)
This course is a continuation of HARC 0710, which consists of ongoing, supervised independent work with an advisor, plus organizing, writing, and presenting a curatorial or museum-based thesis or exhibition. (Approval Required)HARC 1031 Abenaki Art Then and Now (Winter 2025)
This course provides a broad overview of over 12,000 years of regional Native American culture, including history, arts, cultural perspectives on place, kinship, relationship building, and self-determination through Abenaki voices and artistic expressions. Interactive class discussions will cultivate new understandings about decolonization, identity, gender, blood quantum, cultural appropriation versus appreciation of art, and allyship with the local Abenaki community. Through an Indigenous methodology called “Two-Eyed Seeing” in the Mi’kmaw language, we bring Western and Indigenous Perspectives together by exploring Western views through one eye and Indigenous views through the other. Diverse perspectives of scholars such as Ruth Phillips, Jason Baird Jackson, Lisa Brooks (Abenaki) and Indigenous culture bearers will be brought together to illuminate course themes. No prerequisites.Vera Sheehan, scholar, educator, activist, and artist is the Executive Director of the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, Founder of the Abenaki Arts & Education Center, and Board Secretary for the Vermont Humanities. Previously, she worked at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and served on the Act 1 Working Group dedicated to ethnic studies and social equity in schools./ ART, WTR (V. Sheehan)
HARC 1033 Middlebury’s Historic Clothing Collection: Conservation, Documentation, and Interpretation Practicum (Winter 2025)
Middlebury College is the proud owner of an historic teaching collection of over 400 pieces of antique clothing and accessories. However, the collection is poorly curated and remains largely hidden, stored away in the lower level of Wright Theatre. In this practicum/seminar, students will inventory and document the collection with the expertise of a textile historian and a costume designer; further conserve and physically stabilize the collection by improving its storage; and update and expand the online database, making the entire collection digitally available to on- and off- campus audiences alike. AMR, ART, HIS, WTR (S. Jack)Cross-listed as:
THEA 1033 *
HARC 1034 Ski Design and Fabrication (Winter 2025)
Few things are as exhilarating as carving down a snowy slope on a pair of skis built with your own hands. In this studio course we will review the history of skis as early utilitarian tools of Northern Europe (c 5000 BCE) through increasingly technical modern sporting goods. We will explore contemporary ski design, materials, and fabrication methods. Students will design and build a pair of alpine (downhill) skis, using woodworking and metalworking equipment, including a CNC router, vacuum press, and various hand tools. The course will culminate in a testing day at Middlebury Snowbowl.Kurt Gross is a product designer based in Middlebury, VT. His work has ranged from medical devices, consumer electronics, robotics, telecommunications, clean energy technologies, and advanced manufacturing at Google, Verily, X, Medtronic, NASA, and more./ WTR (K. Gross)
HARC 1035 From Forest to Frame (Winter 2025)
We’ve all heard of the local food movement, but what about local shelter? Vernacular architecture is place-based, low- impact, durable and accessible; and timber framing was a vital part of Vermont vernacular architecture in the 18th and 19th centuries. This class will give students an introduction to the theory and practice of the age-old craft of timber framing, with a focus on 19th c. Vermont vernacular architecture. Readings, discussions and site visits to local timber frames will provide the theoretical backdrop that informs our practical work: creating a small timber frame structure. In this course students will be introduced to tree selection and felling, hewing, milling, joinery lay out, and cutting; the class will culminate in the hand-raising of our finished timber frame.Will Wallace-Gusakov has been timber framing since the early 2000s. He has worked, taught and learned in VT, around the US, and in places like Poland, Estonia, Italy and Ghana. He has worked and lived in France with Les Compangnons du Devoir, and in 2023 was hired to take part in the rebuilding of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral. He runs Goosewing Timberworks in Lincoln, VT./ ART, WTR (W. Wallace-Gusakov)
HARC 1060 Print Culture and the History of the Book, 1450-1800 (Winter 2025)
Students will learn the historical background and bibliographic skills needed to use printed books from the hand-press period (1450-1800) in their own research. Readings and discussions will focus on: the material culture of the printed book and its impact on Western society; the technical aspects of printing and publishing in the hand-press period, including binding techniques/styles, print illustration processes, bibliographic description; and how bibliographic studies can inform humanities scholarship. This course will be partially embedded in the Middlebury Special Collections Library, and students will conduct original research on a book of their choosing from the collection. WTR (D. Hart)Independent Scholar Program
Interdepartmental Courses
INTD 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Approval Required WTR (1505 seats)INTD 0501 Animation Studio I (Winter 2025)
Independent StudyApproval Required WTR (D. Houghton)
INTD 0502 Animation Studio 2 (Winter 2025)
Independent StudyApproval Required WTR (D. Houghton)
INTD 0503 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Approval Required WTR (D. Houghton)INTD 0504 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Approval Required WTR (D. Houghton)INTD 1005 Worldbuilding (Winter 2025)
In this course we will critically examine fictional worlds in literature, cinema, and games. Worldbuilding synthesizes and transforms our understanding of reality into fantastic settings in literature, movies, and video games. We will critically examine the multidisciplinary use of origin stories, symbols and myths, invented histories, and imagined geographies in constructing new universes. Among the questions we will consider are: How do we conceive of coherent places and times? What real world consequences do fictional worlds have on popular beliefs and practices? Students will design their own well-researched and richly detailed worlds during the semester. (Not open to students who have already taken FYSE 1029.) ART, LIT, WTR (R. Lint Sagarena)INTD 1007 Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation: The Backbone of Global Commerce (Winter 2025)
In this course students will learn about the basics of supply chain, including activities such as planning, sourcing & procurement, manufacturing, transportation & freight, reverse logistics and supporting technologies. We will explore and go deeper into industries or aspects that students find a connection to (ex: the supply chain of sports or the sustainable supply chain or Gen AI-powered autonomous supply chains). We will hear from guest speakers from companies such as Accenture, DataBank, Capital Group, Deloitte, Gartner, IFC/World Bank, Altana and Amazon, etc. and discuss career opportunities in supply chain, and related areas (finance, marketing, operations, talent, consulting, etc.). Weather and time-permitting, we will look to have a field trip to a warehouse or distribution center (TBD). The class will conclude with a project that asks the students to fuse what they’ve learned with an innovative new idea. (Open to Juniors and Seniors or by instructor approval)John Atherton graduated from Middlebury College in 1993 with a major in geography, and a minor in studio art. After coaching athletics at the college level, and teaching at a boarding school, he found his way into the world of global supply chains, and has been a practitioner for over 20 years. John has worked for a major global container shipping line, grew a tech start-up from nothing to something, and is now with the biggest consulting firm on the planet. In 2018, John was inducted into the Middlebury College Athletic Hall of Fame (Soccer, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse and Football)./ WTR (J. Atherton)
INTD 1008 Quant Trading in Finance (Winter 2025)
In this course we will learn about quantitative finance and the stock market specifically. We will focus on how the stock market works and what it means to be a “quant”. Students will use Matlab extensively or another statistical package to build models that predict future stock movements. Morning lectures/discussions will focus on the workings of the stock market and the inefficiencies that might be present. In afternoons “lab” sessions and as “homework” students will work by themselves or in teams (with the instructor’s help) to build actual models of future stock prices. Students will learn not only how to build those models but also how to evaluate how effective they are. It would be very useful if the interested student had some previous coding experience or took a matlab tutorial before the class starts. (BIOL 0211 or CSCI 0145 or CSCI 0150 or ECON 0210 or MATH 0116 or PSYC 0201 or STAT 0116 or Instructor Approval)Scott Smallwood has worked in the hedge fund field for 15 years and is currently running his own small quantitative hedge fund./ WTR (S. Smallwood)
INTD 1012 Live Your Best (Future) Life: From College to Career (Winter 2025)
In this course students will identify and reflect deeply on their strengths, values, and motivations and learn how to apply self-knowledge to their search for personally meaningful work. Students will be introduced to leading career development theories including Pryor and Bright’s Chaos Theory of Careers, Krumboltz’s Planned Happenstance, Jung’s Theory of Personality, and Appreciative Inquiry; hear from professional experts; and practice skills proven to increase their access to purposeful opportunities in the world of work. Classes will involve instructor led lectures followed by discussions, case studies, videos/podcasts, career inventories, speakers and panels, and individual/group reflections. Students will learn how to use tools and strategies to navigate their immediate and future job searches that will be useful throughout their lifetimes.Ursula Olender M.Ed. is a career services leader with extensive experience building career development ecosystems and highly productive teams. With more than 25 years of experience, she joined Middlebury in 2016 as Director of Career Advising and Employer Relations and Business/Finance Careers Advisor, she previously directed career centers at Amherst College and Colgate University, and was chief health professions advisor and associate director at Dartmouth College.
Tracy Himmel Isham is a professional having worked for 14 years in the natural resource sector and 20 years at Middlebury College and the Center for Careers and Internships as a social impact and education career adviser. Her career has spanned the nonprofit, for-profit, start-up venture, and association worlds focusing on global issues and pragmatic solutions: the environment and ecosystem market-based models; economic, community and market development; fair trade; innovation and social entrepreneurship; sustainable food systems; and educational access./ WTR (T. Himmel Isham, U. Olender)
INTD 1014 American Sign Language I (Winter 2025)
In this course students will be introduced to American Sign Language (ASL). This course is intended for students who have little or no previous knowledge of ASL. Students will have an opportunity to learn social functions with respect to introducing themselves, exchanging personal information, describing simple narratives, and they will develop beginning conversational skills based on ASL vocabulary and grammatical rules. The fundamentals of the Deaf Culture will be examined through classroom demonstration and readings. LNG, WTR (J. Pirone)INTD 1016 Questioning Technology (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will critically approach and think deeply about the ways in which we shape, and are shaped by digital technologies of the 21st century. What does society give up for the benefits of a given technology? Who is harmed and who benefits from the technology? What are the unexpected impacts of the technology? Informed by texts such as Weapons of Math Destruction, Design Justice, and Race After Technology, we will explore contexts such as surveillance, privacy, exploitative tech, discriminatory design, and AI. We’ll also explore speculative futures as a framework for imagining a different future with technology. (This course is not open to students who have already taken FYSE 1040.)Dr. Sarah Lohnes Watulak is the Director of Digital Pedagogy and Learning in the Office of Digital Learning and Inquiry at Middlebury.
Dr. Amy Collier is the Associate Provost for Digital Learning and head of the Office of Digital Learning and Inquiry at Middlebury./ SOC, WTR (S. Lohnes Watulak, A. Collier)
INTD 1017 Sports & Society: How Sports Transcend Their Sidelines (Winter 2025)
Politics, religion, and sports are the common denominators of any society. It could be argued, however, that sport is the only one that unites communities rather than divides them, drives economies rather than diminishing them, and offers tools to expand horizons rather than dogma that limits them. In this class, students explore the premise that sports are much more than the games they watch on TV. They are a multi-billion dollar industry impacting all facets of everyday life. Unlike most businesses sport sits uniquely within the public trust, with the ability to effect change, offer hope and transform the essence of who we are as individuals. The lessons from sport echo throughout life, and this class will examine them firsthand.Mike Leonard is Middlebury’s Head Baseball Coach, joining the team in 2016 and leading them to a NESCAC championship in 2022. A standout player at the University of Connecticut, Coach Leonard spent several years in the Boston Red Sox system before obtaining his Masters in Education and beginning his coaching career in 2009.
Scott Langerman (Middlebury ’87, P ’19.5 & ‘22) has spent more than 25 years in the sports and entertainment industries, most recently as Founder and CEO of ACE Media, the content arm of the NFL Player’s Association, and the Founder and EVP of Hall of Fame Village Media, the content arm of the Pro Football Hall of Fame./ WTR (S. Langerman, M. Leonard)
INTD 1018 Restorative Justice Practice and Theory (Winter 2025)
Conflict, harm, and wrongdoing are often addressed through ascribing blame and exacting punishment; this approach rarely meets the needs and desires of those directly impacted and their communities. By contrast, restorative justice provides opportunities for those most affected to collectively determine the impact, needs, and obligations that rise in the wake of wrongdoing, and establish steps to put things as right as possible. In this course we will explore the theory and practice of restorative justice, illustrated through the primary modes of restorative practice (victim offender dialogue in prisons, circle processes, peacemaking, family group conferencing as diversion, and truth and reconciliation commissions). We will examine restorative justice’s strengths and shortcomings, and create opportunities to put theory into practice.Sujatha Baliga’s work is characterized by an equal dedication to people who have caused and experienced harm and violence. A former victim advocate and public defender, Baliga was awarded a Soros Justice Fellowship in 2008 which she used to launch a now-nationwide pre-charge restorative youth diversion program; an internationally recognized leader in the field, she was named a 2019 MacArthur Fellow./ WTR (S. Baliga)
INTD 1019 From Shakespeare to Wall Street: Management and the Liberal Arts (Winter 2025)
In this course, students will explore how a Liberal Arts education (e.g., critical thinking, ethical behavior, and society building) can serve to humanize business. We will draw on various business case studies, videos, academic readings, and leverage wisdom from three Shakespearean works, Hamlet, King Lear, and The Merchant of Venice. We will then apply our newfound lessons to various business contexts (as Wall Street is a metaphor for business writ large) with the hopes of promoting human ethical conduct, corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability, and human equality.(Grove Nichols can be contacted at ggnichols2@gmail.com)
Grosvenor (Grove) Nichols graduated from Middlebury in 1971. He majored in English, played varsity hockey and tennis, and was a fraternity social chairman. He went on to get an MBA from Stanford and has had a career in banking and consulting, including starting a bank in Sacramento, California, and serving as its CEO for ten years. Grove is currently a ski instructor and tennis pro at Stratton Mountain./ WTR (G. Nichols)
INTD 1022 Beyond Bretton Woods: A Critical Global Financial Architecture Review (Winter 2025)
In this course we will discuss the ongoing international financial architecture review (IFAR) process, from the angle of the polycrisis (amongst others, climate change, global health pandemic, social and racial injustice, geo-political tensions and global financial instability) challenges. Students will be offered foundational knowledge about the existing global financial architecture constellation, which emerged from the 1944 Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire. The course will canvas the core purposes, principles and design intentions to critically analyze and judiciously engage in the core IFAR themes and proposals. The 80-year developments and ensuing challenges will be contextualized with the evolving strands of the current polycrisis. The main course objective is to impart an innovative solutions mindset. The course material will provide a solid introduction to the upcoming May 2024 conference organized on a similar theme at Bread Loaf. SOC, WTR (F. Van Gansbeke)INTD 1028 Exploring Culture Through Character (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore costume as a cultural artifact that reveals a character's background, life experience, and world view within the larger narrative of a character's story. Students will choose their focal character from literature (a novel, poem, fable, or myth), a film, or an episodic series.This is not a course that teaches how to design or create a costume. In this course we will analyze costume for information on cultural heritage. We will consider the socio-political environment of a character's story, and the similarities and differences, meaning, purpose, and traditions that the costumes reveal. Along with developing analytical skills, the course seeks to broaden students' awareness of cultures other than their own and build cultural competence.
Sarah Beers is a professional costume designer for theater (NYC and regional) and film and television. She was a recipient of a 2013 Emmy for costume design and has taught at Kingdom County Production’s experiential film program for college students. https://www.sarahbeersdesign.com/ WTR (S. Beers)
INTD 1031 The Great Pamphlets (Winter 2025)
Many courses are devoted to the great books of civilization, but historians increasingly wonder how many contemporaries really read them. Pamphlets, on the other hand, have consistently been among the most popular, persuasive, and political texts around. Emerging as a form of mass media in the European Reformation, the form has served the subversives of pre-revolutionary France and England, and been adopted by figures from Martin Luther to Simon Bolivar, Karl Marx, Rosa Luxembourg, and Upton Sinclair. We will examine the pamphlet as a form across genres (memoir, manifesto, essay, exposé, etc.) and historical contexts, reading specific examples as a way into broader questions of literacy, rebellion, and authority: crucial vehicles for both revolutionary and reactionary ideas. EUR, HIS, WTR (R. Makleff)INTD 1032 Nanotechnology (Winter 2025)
In this interdisciplinary course, we’ll zoom in (and out) on nanotechnology–the manipulation of matter at the atomic scale. We’ll explore nanotechnology’s role in optics, computing, energy, and biology, beginning with ancient art all the way through the AI revolution. We'll explore applications of nanoscience, including the chips in your smartphone and the mRNA COVID vaccines, while considering the accessibility and sustainability of these emerging technologies. In addition to interactive lectures and discussions, we’ll hear from guest scientists, entrepreneurs, and regulators in this evolving space. With hands-on experiments and field trips to local science labs and art installations, we’ll observenanoscale structures at work. Together, we’ll focus on developing critical thinking and creative communication skills across both scientific and social
contexts.
Vijay Kris Narasimhan, Ph.D. (he/him) is the Director of R&D Collaborations at EMD Electronics, a science and technology company that develops advanced materials for semiconductor nanotechnology. With a BASc in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa, an MPhil in Nanotechnology Enterprise from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, Vijay has broad expertise, with contributions in nanostructures for neural interfaces; nanoscale electronic and optical materials; renewable energy technology and rural electricity access; and AI for sustainability./ SCI, WTR (V. Narasimhan)
INTD 1074 MiddCORE 2024 (Winter 2025)
MiddCORE’s mentor-driven leadership and innovation immersion program builds skills and confidence through collaborative, experiential, and impact-focused learning. Through daily, weekly, and month-long challenges, students gain experience in leadership, strategic thinking, idea creation, collaboration, persuasive communication, ethical decision-making, cross-cultural understanding, conflict resolution, empathy, and crisis management. Acceptance into MiddCORE is by approval only. To learn more about this January's MiddCORE curriculum and to apply to the program, please visit go/MiddCOREwinter. (Pass/Fail; Approval Required) WTR (R. Moeller)INTD 1089 Middlebury Entrepreneurs (Winter 2025)
Middlebury Entrepreneurs is a winter term course for students who want to learn the entrepreneurial framework, start their own business or non-profit organization, or generally learn about innovation, entrepreneurship, or venture capital. On their own or in groups, students will follow the process from ideation to launch quickly and effectively through class discussions, deliverables, and hands-on mentoring both from professors and visiting entrepreneurs and investors. While students are encouraged to apply to the course with a business idea they’d like to pursue as part of a team, it is not a requirement. Individuals without a concrete idea can become team members of other startups, or valuable “utility players,” filling the role of startup consultants or contractors. Class will be focused on building a prototype, testing the intended market or target group, and engaging with potential clients or customers. There is also a strong focus on meeting and connecting with innovation leaders and world renown companies right here in Vermont. Past field trips have included Burton Snowboards, Dealer.com, Mamava, as well as innovation and maker spaces around Vermont. At the conclusion of the course, teams or individuals will pitch their ideas to a panel of innovators, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders for the Will Nash Memorial prize. (Approval Required) (Pass/Fail)David Bradbury is President of the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET) which offers expert business mentoring, venture capital, coworking and accelerator facilities, and substantive networking to the region’s entrepreneurs and next generation employers.
Samantha “Sam” Roach-Gerber is a 2013 graduate of Northeastern University where she studied Organizational Communication and Environmental Studies. As Director of Innovation at VCET, Sam oversees programming and partnerships, membership, events, communications and marketing; she also co-hosts VCET’s podcast, Start Here./ WTR (D. Bradbury)
INTD 1125 Introduction to Meditation (Winter 2025)
Basic sitting and walking meditation will be taught and intensively practiced. We will use the breath to foster relaxed attention and to gain perspective on our restless minds. Emphasis will be on using these techniques in daily life and academic endeavors. We will read texts from the contemporary American, Tibetan and Zen Buddhist traditions, but the meditation will be employed in nonsectarian fashion applicable to any belief system. Truth should be verified by one’s experience. Students will write papers and give presentations. No meditation experience necessary.John Huddleston retired from the Studio Art Program in 2017. For the last eight years he also taught mindfulness courses at the college./ NOA, PHL, WTR (J. Huddleston)
Cross-listed as:
EDST 1125
INTD 1152 Introduction to Swahili and East African Culture (Winter 2025)
This course introduces students to Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa. Students will acquire a foundation for speaking, reading, and writing Swahili, and will learn how to use it appropriately in East African culture. The use of English in the classroom will be kept to a minimum. The course also provides an introduction to the geography and history of East Africa. This course is particularly useful for students who intend to visit Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda, because its linguistic and cross-cultural training will give them the resources to maximize such an experience. This course counts as elective credit towards the African Studies minor.Dr. Waithera is an intellectual entrepreneur and an educator. She was the recipient of the 2010 Carolina Chiron Award for excellent teaching & dedication to students, an award inspired by the late Randy Pausch’s famous last lecture. Gave her own version of a last lecture entitled, “Humanizing the continent of Africa: Demystifying Myths & Stereotypes that Encroach it”. Her writings span diverse fields-The intersection of pathogens and women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, Gender, and African languages./ LNG, SAF, WTR (J. Msuya)
Cross-listed as:
BLST 1152 *
INTD 1184 Constitutional Law, Adjudication and Advocacy (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore how cases are developed in the state and federal trial courts and presented on appeal in the Vermont Supreme Court. Taught by a retired Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and a senior status United States District Judge, the course will include both a substantive component focused primarily on United States and Vermont constitutional law and trial and appellate procedure, and an experiential component in which students will participate in a moot appellate court presentation, including submitting a written argument in a “brief” and making an oral argument to a “bench” of one or more judges. Students will examine in depth the briefs, oral arguments and resulting decisions in two recently-decided Vermont Supreme Court cases and will attend the arguments for actual cases being heard by the Vermont Supreme Court. Having read and discussed the briefs and issues in those cases, students will meet with one or more Justices of the Court and the lawyers who presented arguments. Finally, students will read about and discuss “hot topics” in the United States’ legal and justice system, including methods of judicial selection, police officer liability for constitutional violations and the need to modernize state and federal constitutions.Justices John Dooley is a retired Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court.
Judge William Sessions is a senior status Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont./ AMR, NOR, SOC, WTR (J. Dooley, W. Sessions)
INTD 1201 The Trial of Frank Gallagher: An Introduction into the Criminal Justice System (Winter 2025)
Frank Gallagher is the prime suspect in a double homicide being investigated by the Vermont Special Investigations Unit. What charges will be filed? What will his defense be? In this course we will familiarize students with the Vermont Criminal Justice system through the lens of his case. Students will be asked to view and analyze evidence, examine trial issues surrounding competency to stand trial, self-defense and the voluntariness of confessions. These topics will be explored both through lecture and through practical experience. The course will culminate with the trial of Frank Gallagher. WTR (P. Bevere)INTD 1219 Applying New Tools and Technologies to Today's Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula (Winter 2025)
In 2017, North Korea tested a missile capable of delivering a powerful thermonuclear weapon against cities throughout the United States. How do scholars study international security challenges like the spread of nuclear weapons? In this course, students will develop an open source intelligence toolkit applicable to a broad universe of international security challenges, with special focus on nuclear weapons and North Korea. No prior knowledge is assumed, and students outside political science are encouraged to participate. The tools covered, such as satellite imagery, have broad applicability beyond nonproliferation, to areas such as human trafficking, climate change, oceans policy, and counterterrorism.Dr. Jeffrey Lewis is Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. At the Middlebury Institute he teaches courses on arms control issues in Northeast Asia and Chinese nuclear policy./ WTR (J. Lewis)
INTD 1235 Shaping Climate Narratives: Impactful Advocacy (Winter 2025)
In this course we will examine how advocacy strategies and tactics can be employed to drive progress on climate issues. Throughout the term, we will engage with distinguished professionals working in the fields of communications and climate advocacy who will share their experiences and perspectives. Each student will prepare short exposés of tactics being deployed to impede progress on climate issues, and the class will collectively frame a documentary storyboard on how to counter such efforts. The class will also consider how Middlebury College might enhance the impact of its Energy2028 initiative.Kim Gagné has amassed deep experience as an advocate in a career spanning the worlds of law, diplomacy, and government relations. Kim’s advocacy experiences include partnership at a Washington white collar criminal defense firm; service as a Foreign Service Officer in Haiti and Saudi Arabia and at the U.S. Mission to the European Union; and senior-level service in Microsoft’s legal and corporate affairs group in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Kim is a Senior Counselor with the strategic communications firm APCO Worldwide and is Board Chair of ID2020.
This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors. SOC, WTR (K. Gagne)
INTD 1259 Conflict Transformation: Approaches and Skills (Winter 2025)
This course will introduce to students to a variety of approaches to conflict transformation (CT), including intercultural competence, mediation, restorative practices, and structured dialogue. CT skills enrich classroom learning and prepare students to be effective citizens in a polarized public square. To transform conflict, we must first understand the nature of conflict and then develop tools to build healthy relationships and communities – locally, nationally, and globally. Students will learn about the drivers of conflict and then practice CT skills in the course. This course is part of a Middlebury-wide CT initiative, and this course foundational for students who wish to pursue practicum or research opportunities in other CT programs. SOC, WTR (S. Stroup, L. Winfield, J. Portilla)INTN 1052 Coaching & Issues in Sports (Winter 2025)
Coaching and Issues in Sports *In this course, students will examine coaching and its effect on individuals from elementary school through college. Students will explore various forms of coaching philosophy and pedagogy, team management, and sports psychology. Guest speakers will be an important component of the class as they facilitate discussions and present on current issues in athletics. Students will be required to complete daily readings/podcasts and create a personal coaching portfolio. A final group presentation will allow each student to explore a relevant coaching topic of their choosing to demonstrate the skills and techniques they have refined over the term. (Open to Juniors and Seniors only) WTR (E. Dalton)
Program in International & Global Studies
IGST 0500 East Asian Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRIGST 0501 Latin American Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (297 seats) (J. Maluccio, M. Williams, N. Poppe)IGST 0502 Middle East Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRIGST 0503 African Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (M. Sheridan)IGST 0504 South Asian Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRIGST 0505 European Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRIGST 0507 Global Security Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Only) WTR (99 seats) (S. Stroup)IGST 0508 Global Gender and Sexuality Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Only)IGST 0510 Global Migration & Diaspora Studies Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) (A. Prakash)IGST 0700 Senior Work (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0701 Russian and East European Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0702 European Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0703 Latin American Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0704 East Asian Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0705 African Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0706 Middle East Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0707 South Asian Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)IGST 0708 Global Security Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Only)IGST 0709 Global Migration and Diaspora Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Only)IGST 0710 Global Gender and Sexuality Studies Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Only)IGST 0711 Global Environmental Change Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Only)IGST 1016 Russia-Ukraine War & Nuclear Order (Winter 2025)
Has conflict between Russia and Ukraine ushered in a new era of nuclear dangers? Nuclear weapons were central to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine from the outset. Indeed, persistent Russian threats to use nuclear arms and provocations at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station have drawn considerable public attention. In this course, students will think about nuclear weapons in the context of the war. They will consider topics such as implications for (non)proliferation, arms control, disarmament, and the future of the “nuclear taboo” established in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In-class simulations will enable students to better understand how practitioners attempt to analyze and avert nuclear risks. No prior background with nuclear issues is required.Dr. Stephen Herzog is Professor of the Practice at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is an Associate of Harvard University’s Project on Managing the Atom and a former U.S. Department of Energy nuclear arms control official./ WTR (S. Herzog)
Program in International Politics and Economics
IPEC 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRIPEC 0700 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (P. Matthews, G. Winslett, T. Byker, J. Lunstead, A. Stanger, C. Craven, M. Williams, A. Fieldhouse, E. Gong, N. Horning, A. Yuen, E. Wolcott, O. Lewis, A. Rao)IPEC 1023 Extending Financial Services to the Unbanked (Winter 2025)
n this course we will explore different interventions and tools used for poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, and the extension of financial services to the unbanked poor in emerging markets. Using examples drawn from the field, we will look at the use of microfinance, microinsurance, and digital financial services to achieve these goals in developing countries. In addition to articles, the practitioner will draw on special guest speakers to represent case studies and themes from the course outline.Elizabeth Toder began her international development adventure as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand 30 years ago and most recently served as the US Treasury Department’s Resident Advisor in Madagascar, advising the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank on financial inclusion./ SOC, WTR (E. Toder)
Cross-listed as:
ECON 1023 *
Department of Italian
ITAL 0102 Beginning Italian II (Winter 2025)
This course is a continuation of ITAL 0101, and emphasizes spoken and written Italian and the mastery of more complex grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students continue to work with conversation partners, but will also incorporate more specific cultural references in oral presentations and in written assignments. Students attend the Italian table and mandatory film screenings. (ITAL 0101 or equivalent) LNG, WTR (I. Brancoli Busdraghi, P. Zupan)ITAL 0550 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Italian faculty as a group will consider and approve requests by qualified juniors and seniors to engage in independent work. Students must submit a prospectus that includes a bibliography of no less than five sources. Interested students should contact members of the Italian faculty before the end of the preceding term to discuss their project and to see if they are available to direct the Independent Study. Students must submit a prospectus with the department chair by the end of the first week of classesfor fall and spring term approvals, by the end the last week of fall semesterfor winter term approvals. Prior to submission, sufficient advance consultation with project directors is required.Junior students are strongly encouraged to consider independent study as preparation for senior honors thesis work. WTR (S. Carletti, P. Zupan, S. Mula, I. Brancoli Busdraghi)ITAL 0755 Senior Honors (Winter 2025)
Students majoring in Italian must complete an independent senior project. Italian faculty as a group will consider and approve the proposals, which should be submitted before the last week of the preceding semester. The senior project will be advised by one member of the Italian department, but will be presented to the whole department. Italian honors will be awarded to eligible students depending on the final grade. (Staff)Department of Japanese Studies
JAPN 0102 First-Year Japanese (Winter 2025)
This course is an intensive continuation of JAPN 0101. This course is required for those students wishing to take JAPN 0103 in the Spring. (JAPN 0101) LNG, WTR (X. Wang, M. Takahashi)JAPN 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
Qualified students may be permitted to undertake a special project in reading and research under the direction of a member of the department. Students should seek an advisor and submit a proposal to the department well in advance of registration for the term in which the work is to be undertaken. WTRJAPN 0700 Honors Thesis (Winter 2025)
Students write a thesis in English with a synopsis in Japanese on literature, film, or culture. The topic for the thesis is chosen in consultation with the instructor. (JAPN 0475)Jewish Studies Minor
JWST 0104 The US-Israel Relationship: Past, Present and Future (Winter 2025)
Since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, the alliance between the United States and Israel has grown both stronger and more controversial. In this course, we will examine the history of the special relationship between the two countries with attention focused on its religious, cultural, political and strategic dimensions. Topics will include Christian Zionism, American Jewish politics, Israel-Palestine conflict, the Israel Lobby, geopolitics, and contemporary social movements. Course materials will include lectures, reading assignments and documentary films. All students will complete and present research about a contemporary advocacy campaign meant to influence US policy toward Israel, Palestine and/or the Middle East. MDE, SOC, WTR (T. Sasson)Cross-listed as:
HEBM 0104
JWST 1056 Confronting the Jewish Past: A Tale of Two Cities (Winter 2025)
In this course we explore Jewish life in Berlin and Warsaw, its flourishing between the World Wars, its destruction in the Holocaust, and its revival in our times, focusing first on the history of Berlin and Warsaw Jewry: were Polish-Jewish immigrants to Berlin welcomed warmly as brothers or warily as strangers? Among German Jews, was their purported symbiosis with other Germans real or merely wishful thinking? Under Nazi rule how did the fate of the Jews of Berlin and Warsaw differ?In a two-week study tour of Berlin and Warsaw, we will focus on history and memory. How do these two cities commemorate the annihilation of the Jews and reckon with their distinct share of responsibility? We will seek to understand the “memory-work” reflected in monuments and museums, and in the cityscape itself. Back in Vermont for the last week, we will reflect on contested memory and apply what we have learned to contemporary issues: how does the memory of the Jewish past in central Europe figure in the current politics of these two societies? How can it help us understand other societies struggling to cope with shameful histories of oppression, exploitation, and genocide?
By instructor approval only. Students who applied during the admissions process in October and were accepted to take this course may register. EUR, HIS, PHL, WTR (R. Schine)
Cross-listed as:
RELI 1056
HEBM 0102 Introductory Modern Hebrew II (Winter 2025)
This course is an intensive continuation of Modern Hebrew 0101. Students will expand their knowledge of Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, will increase their proficiency in oral communication, and will study selections of both audio and visual media related to modern-day Israel. (HEBM 0101 or by permission) 10 hrs. lect. LNG, WTR (M. Strier)HEBM 0104 The US-Israel Relationship (Winter 2025)
The US-Israel Relationship: Past, Present and Future*Since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, the alliance between the United States and Israel has grown both stronger and more controversial. In this course, we will examine the history of the special relationship between the two countries with attention focused on its religious, cultural, political and strategic dimensions. Topics will include Christian Zionism, American Jewish politics, Israel-Palestine conflict, the Israel Lobby, global geopolitics, and contemporary social movements. Course materials will include lectures, reading assignments and documentary films. All students will complete and present research about a contemporary advocacy campaign meant to influence US policy toward Israel, Palestine and/or the Middle East. MDE, SOC, WTR (T. Sasson)
Cross-listed as:
JWST 0104 *
HEBM 0500 Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRLinguistics Minor
LNGT 0107 Introduction to TESOL (Winter 2025)
In this course we will study theories and methods in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in the U.S. and abroad. We will look at the basic building blocks of the grammatical and pronunciation systems of English and explore different teaching techniques. We will examine curricular resources used with adolescent and adult learners, and develop materials applicable to a variety of classroom settings. Class sessions will be largely hands-on and will include practice student teaching demonstrations with peer feedback. (Not open to students who have taken LNGT/EDST 1003)Joe McVeigh has many years of experience teaching English to students from a wide range of language backgrounds. He provides professional development for teachers domestically and internationally as an English Language Specialist for the U.S. Department of State. His ESL textbooks, published by Oxford University Press, are widely used in many countries around the world./ WTR (J. McVeigh)
Cross-listed as:
EDST 0107
LNGT 0500 Independent Work (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRProgram in Literary Studies
LITS 0510 Independent Essay Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) (M. Hatjigeorgiou, P. Sfyroeras)LITS 0700 Senior Comprehensive Exam (Winter 2025)
Intended for majors in literary studies preparing for the written section of the senior comprehensive examinations. WTR (M. Hatjigeorgiou)Department of Luso Hispanic Studies
PGSE 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRSPAN 0335 Streaming Spain (Winter 2025)
Streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime have changed forever the audiovisual scenario due to their innovative distribution practices and their agreements with national production companies. In this course, we will analyze how content (movies and shows) produced and/or showcased by these multinational streaming platforms shape the understanding of modern Spain in the globalized context. To do so, we will study comedies Valeria, Paquita Salas, Lo nunca visto, narco-fictions Fariña, Vivir sin permiso, dramas Adú/, /Merlí: Sapere Aude, and thrillers La casa de papel, O sabor das margaridas to delve into issues of identity, class, gender representation, economic insecurity, and globalization. (SPAN 220 or equivalent). 3 hrs.lect./disc. EUR, LNG, WTR (L. Lesta Garcia)SPAN 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
The department will consider requests by qualified juniors and senior majors to engage in independent work. (Approval only) WTRSPAN 0705 Senior Honors Thesis (Winter 2025)
The department will award honors, high honors, or highest honors on the basis of a student's work in the department and performance in SPAN 0705. (Approval only) WTR (M. Fernandez, L. Lesta Garcia, E. Garcia, G. Gonzalez Zenteno, L. Castaneda, N. Poppe, A. Fil, P. Saldarriaga)Department of Mathematics and Statistics
MATH 0500 Advanced Study (Winter 2025)
Individual study for qualified students in more advanced topics in algebra, number theory, real or complex analysis, topology. Particularly suited for those who enter with advanced standing. (Approval required) 3 hrs. lect./disc. WTRSTAT 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Individual study for qualified students in more advanced topics in statistics. Particularly suited for those who enter with advanced standing. (Approval required) 3 hrs. lect./disc.Middlebury Institute Courses
Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
MBBC 0500 Independent Research (Winter 2025)
This course is for non-seniors wishing to conduct independent research in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Additional requirements include attendance at all MBBC-sponsored seminars and seminars sponsored by the faculty mentor’s department, and participation in any scheduled meetings and disciplinary sub-groups and lab groups. (Approval required).MBBC 0700 Senior Independent Research (Winter 2025)
Seniors conducting independent research in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry under the guidance of a faculty mentor should register for MBBC 0700 unless they are completing a thesis project (in which case they should register for MBBC 0701). Additional requirements include attendance at all MBBC-sponsored seminars and seminars sponsored by the faculty mentor’s department, and participation in any scheduled meetings and disciplinary sub-groups and lab groups. (Approval required).MBBC 0701 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
This course is for seniors completing independent thesis research in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry that was initiated in BIOL 0500, CHEM 0400, MBBC 0500, or MBBC 0700. Students will attend weekly meetings with their designated research group and engage in one-on-one meetings with their research mentor to foster understanding in their specialized research area. Students will also practice the stylistic and technical aspects of scientific writing needed to write their thesis. (BIOL 0500, CHEM 0400, MBBC 0500, MBBC 0700) (Approval required).Department of Music
MUSC 0500 Independent Study (Winter 2025)
Admission by approval. Please consult published departmental guidelines and paragraph below. WTR (297 seats)MUSC 0704 Senior Work (Winter 2025)
Senior work is not required of all music majors and joint majors. However, students interested in and eligible for departmental honors (see guideline above, in "Departmental Honors" section) may propose one or two-semester Senior Work projects. Projects may be in history, composition, theory, ethnomusicology, performance, or electronic music, and should culminate in a written presentation, a public performance, or a combination of the two. MUSC0704 does not count as a course toward fulfillment of the music major.Project and budget proposals for Independent Study and Senior Work should be submitted by the previous April 1 for fall and winter term projects, and the previous October 15 for spring term projects. Budget proposals will not be considered after those dates. Project proposals will be considered after the deadline but are more likely not to be approved due to previous commitments of faculty advisors or other scheduling reasons.
MUSC 1013 Making a Musical: Process and Performance (Winter 2025)
In this experiential course, students will rehearse and perform a musical at the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury, in collaboration with the college’s departments of Music and Theatre. Students with a passion for collaborative theatre-making and a desire to further their skills as actors, musicians, singers, dancers and designers will study alongside professional artists and educators from Middlebury College and beyond. This immersive and unique learning experience will be an opportunity to collaborate across artistic disciplines and to share artistic work with the broader Middlebury community. Participation in the course is determined by auditions held the previous term and requires instructor approval. Please contact Craig Maravich (director) cmaravich@midlebury.edu or Carol Christensen (musical director) at christen@middlebury.edu ART, WTR (C. Maravich, C. Christensen, R. Romano)MUSC 1025 Electronic Music: Digital Audio Synthesis & Production (Winter 2025)
In this course we will learn how to create music using technology. Through lectures and lab sessions, we will explore fundamental topics in electronic music production such as MIDI, recording, arranging, and sound design within a digital audio workstation (DAW). We will also touch upon advanced topics including mixing and mastering. Each student will learn to apply these tools and techniques in tandem by composing and submitting an original piece of music for a public exhibition at the end of the term. The class will be divided into multiple sections based on skill level, and it is open to all students regardless of prior experience. (Approval required; please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/LmfegXRypNV2zDkv9)Jack Tipper ’15.5 is an independent multidisciplinary artist and audio technologist. He currently develops creative tools and releases music under his professional moniker “Aotu”.
McLean Macionis is a forward-thinking composer, producer, and educator whose solo and collaborative works live at the intersection of music, engineering, and the human experience. He releases music under the moniker Alighted and operates a record label called Garden Broom Recordings. Additionally, he serves as a Professor of the Practice in the music department at Middlebury College./ ART, WTR (J. Tipper, M. Macionis)
MUSC 1033 Culture & Craft of DJing (Winter 2025)
This course will cover the cultural history of the DJ in hip-hop, dancehall, and house music. We will explore the biographies of influential DJs, and how they moved popular culture. The course will also offer an introduction into the technical aspects of DJing, including cueing, blending, scratching and transitions. A good DJ interacts with and adapts to the crowd. We will explore the psychology of the dance floor, including crowd dynamics, energy management, and performance strategies. We end this course by organizing a party as a DJ event.DJ Serena Kim was one of the first female club DJs in New York City in the 1990s. She has rocked the dance floor at legendary dance clubs and held a two-night residency at Veruka, where she DJed for the Yankee’s 1999 World Series celebration party. She has DJ’ed alongside Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, and Kool Herc. In addition, DJ Serena Kim served as features editor for Vibe magazine and has been a prolific music journalist with publication credits in nearly every hip-hop magazine, as well as the LA Times, the Washington Post, and many others./ WTR (S. Kim)
Program in Neuroscience
NSCI 0500 Independent Research (Winter 2025)
Students enrolled in NSCI 0500 complete individual research projects involving laboratory or extensive library study on a topic chosen by the student and approved in advance by a NSCI faculty advisor. This course is not open to seniors; seniors should enroll in NSCI 0700. (Approval required) WTRNSCI 0700 Senior Research (Winter 2025)
This course is for senior NSCI majors who plan to conduct one or more semesters of independent research, or who plan to complete preparatory work toward a senior thesis, such as researching and writing a thesis proposal as well as, if appropriate, collecting data that will form the basis for a senior thesis. Senior NSCI majors who plan to complete a senior thesis should register initially for NSCI 0700. Additional requirements may include participation in weekly meetings with advisors and/or lab groups and attending neuroscience seminars. (Approval required, open to seniors only)NSCI 0701 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
Senior NSCI majors who have completed one or more terms of NSCI 0700, who have a GPA of 3.3 in their major courses, and who plan to complete a senior thesis should register for NSCI 0701 for the final semester of the senior thesis process. Students enrolled in NSCI 0701 write a thesis, give a public presentation of their research, and present an oral defense of the thesis before a committee of at least two Neuroscience faculty members. Faculty may recommend High honors in Neuroscience after considering the quality of these components of a student’s thesis and the student’s GPA in major courses. Additional requirements may include participation in weekly meetings with advisors and/or lab groups and attending neuroscience seminars. (NSCI 0700, Approval required)NSCI 1014 Enteric Neurobiology (Winter 2025)
In this course, students will be introduced to the structure and function of the enteric nervous system (ENS), an autonomous nervous system that controls gastrointestinal function. Topics will include a study of ENS function in health and disease including enteric neurons, glia, and immune cells, the gut-brain axis, and the role of the microbiota. Learning methods will include didactic lectures, readings from published books and primary literature, group presentations, and in-class assignments. WTR (E. Bishop)Department of Philosophy
PHIL 0500 Research in Philosophy (Winter 2025)
Supervised independent research in philosophy. (Approval required). WTRPHIL 1040 Nietzsche on Art, Poetry, Music: Origins and Influences (Winter 2025)
In this intensive reading course we will examine the widespread influences of Nietzsche’s philosophy of art, poetry, and music on European and Eurasian philosophy and culture. We will explore both Nietzsche’s inheritances from ancient Greek thought and contested legacies for culture and politics across Europe and Eurasia in the Twentieth Century. Readings will be selected from Nietzsche’s primary works (The Birth of Tragedy, Thus Spoke Zarathustra and others) as well as the creative output of his intellectual disciples and detractors. We will begin with an analysis of selected works from ancient Greek tragedy and philosophy that most influenced the philosopher, and then turn to a close study of Nietzsche’s own writings. We will conclude by exploring philosophical, musical, and artistic works inspired by Nietzsche’s ideas. EUR, HIS, PHL, WTR (R. Mitchell, M. Woodruff)Cross-listed as:
HIST 1040 *
Department of Physics
PHYS 0325 Computational Physics (Winter 2025)
The laws of physics provide a beautiful mathematical framework for describing the universe. Yet it’s rare that exact solutions to the resulting equations can be found with pen and paper. In this course we will explore a range of powerful computational methods that allow us to solve physical problems, primarily using the Python programming language. Applications of these methods will include problems in Newtonian mechanics, electricity and magnetism, statistical and thermal physics, quantum mechanics, and relativity. Prior programming experience or physics coursework at 200 level is required to enroll in this course; students without this background may be eligible to enroll in PHYS 0225 (not open to students who have taken PHYS 0230). (PHYS 0109 and MATH 0122 and PHYS 0202 or CSCI 0145 or CSCI 0150 or equivalent). DED, SCI, WTR (C. Herdman)PHYS 0500 Independent Study and Special Topics (Winter 2025)
(Approval required) WTRPHYS 0704 Senior Project (Winter 2025)
Independent research project incorporating both written and oral presentations. WTRPHYS 0705 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
For a student who has completed PHYS 0704 and, by agreement with his or her advisor, is continuing the senior project as a senior thesis. (PHYS 0704 and approval required) WTR (S. Ratcliff, E. Glikman, N. Graham)Department of Political Science
PSCI 0292 Political Communication (Winter 2025)
How are media and communications technology re-shaping politics? From a global comparative perspective—ranging from the United States to Asia—this course will survey the historical development of communications, the role of media in shaping public opinion and behavior, the impact of new media, and the rise of transnational satellite TV. Conceptually, the course will assess the importance of communications for understanding authoritarianism, democracy, and foreign policy. We will develop general comparative frameworks for understanding the growing importance of communications in the information age, while clarifying the limitations of media for shaping polities. (This course is not open to students who have taken PSCI 0413) 3 hrs. lect. (Comparative Politics)/ CMP, NOA, SOC, WTR (O. Lewis)PSCI 0500 Independent Projects (Winter 2025)
A program of independent work designed to meet the individual needs of advanced students. (Approval required) WTRPSCI 0700 Honors Thesis (Winter 2025)
(Approval required)PSCI 1029 Vermont Government and Politics (Winter 2025)
Vermont is the second smallest state in America. Its state government is similarly small and accessible. How does it work? Does it work well? Are there lessons for other states that didn’t fare as well as we emerged from the Great Recession? Are there lessons Vermont can learn from other states? This course will offer an insider's perspective on the political landscape and governmental system of our host state. We will learn about the state's political history, meet with those involved in the process, and discuss the intricacies of state government and how the political system affects it. (American Politics)/James Douglas, ‘72, successfully sought the office of Governor in 2002 and was inaugurated as the 80th Governor of Vermont in January, 2003. He was re-elected in 2004, 2006, and 2008./ AMR, SOC, WTR (J. Douglas)
PSCI 1050 The Trial of Socrates (Winter 2025)
In the year 399 BCE, Socrates was put to death by the most sophisticated and enlightened city the ancient world had ever seen. In this course we will study Socrates’ trial and execution from the point of view of both philosophy and law. From the point of view of philosophy, we will closely read Plato’s dialogues depicting his persecution and death: the Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. In reading these dialogues, we will seek to understand the reasons why the Athenians persecuted Socrates, what this means for the fate of iconoclasts in all times and places, and what it says about the good life for a human being. From the point of view of law, we will compare the Athenian legal commitments at the center of Socrates’s trial—juries, religious liberty, and the death penalty—to modern America’s, through a week of law-school style reading of the leading United States Supreme Court cases on these issues.Samuel Hage is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Tulane University. He received his BA from Middlebury College in 2016 and an MA from St. John’s College in 2020.
Jeffrey Hetzel is a practicing attorney and former law clerk for Judge Kevin Newsom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He received his BA from Middlebury College in 2014 and his JD from Stanford Law School in 2020. He has litigated before the United States Supreme Court and argued before federal courts of appeals./ WTR (S. Hage, J. Hetzel)
PSCI 1052 Policy Innovation Lab: Affordable Housing Regulations (Winter 2025)
In this policy lab we will work with the Bristol VT Planning Commission to study the impact of current Bristol zoning regulations on affordable housing, and identify best practices in other municipalities for supporting affordable housing. We will begin by studying the politics of affordable housing and the impact of municipal regulation, next we will see how many national trends are also present in Vermont, undergo training in qualitative research methods, and finally undertake a team research project to recommend zoning changes in Bristol, Vermont. WTRPSCI 1168 Reading Herodotus (Winter 2025)
“Herodotus of Halicarnassus here displays his inquiry, so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvelous deeds—some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians—may not be without their glory; and especially to show why the two peoples fought with each other.” So begins Herodotus’ “Inquiries,” aka “Histories.” Herodotus’ accounts of Egypt, Scythia, Lydia, Babylonia, Mesopotamia, and Libya (books I-IV) lay the foundation for his account of the Persian Wars (V-IX). The relation between Greekness and human freedom emerges as the theme of that war. EUR, HIS, LIT, WTR (M. Dry)Department of Psychology
PSYC 0350 Directed Research in Psychology (Winter 2025)
Directed research provides opportunities for advanced students to become familiar with and participate in ongoing research projects under the direction of a faculty member. The student will first read background literature on the content area to be investigated and experimental methodologies to be used. Procedures involved in conducting psychological research will then be learned through firsthand experience. Potential activities include the design of research and the defining of conceptual variables and the gathering, analyzing, and interpretation of data. Finally, students will learn how to write technical articles in psychology by preparing a paper describing the project, using APA style. (Approval required; not open to first-year students) 3 hrs. lect. WTR (J. Arndt, S. Baldridge, M. Collaer, M. Seehuus, S. Gurland, O. Parshina, M. Kimble, A. DiBianca Fasoli, M. McCauley, M. Dash, C. Velez, K. Cronise, R. Moeller)PSYC 0500 Advanced Research (Winter 2025)
A program of research arranged to meet the needs of advanced students majoring in psychology. (Approval required) WTR (1188 seats)PSYC 0700 Senior Research (Winter 2025)
A program of research arranged to meet the needs of advanced senior majors in psychology. (PSYC 0201 and PSYC 0202; Approval required)PSYC 0701 Senior Thesis Proposal (Winter 2025)
Students hoping to be considered as candidates for departmental honors must enroll in PSYC 0701 under the sponsorship of a department faculty member. Their semester’s work will culminate in the submission of a formal, written research proposal by the due date as specified by the department. If the proposal is approved, the student will enroll in PSYC 0702 during the winter term and PSYC 0703 during the spring term of their senior year. (Feb graduates should consult with their advisors about the appropriate semester in which to begin a thesis.) (PSYC 0201 and PSYC 0202; Approval required)PSYC 0702 Senior Thesis Second Semester (Winter 2025)
Students whose honors thesis proposal (PSYC 0701) has been approved will collect, analyze, and interpret their data. This is the second semester of the 3-semester senior thesis. (PSYC 0201, PSYC 0202, and PSYC 0701; Approval required)PSYC 0703 Senior Thesis (Winter 2025)
Senior Thesis*This is the third and final semester of the senior thesis. Students will finish analyzing and interpreting their data. This process culminates in a written thesis to be submitted by the due date as specified by the department, a presentation, and an oral defense. The decision about awarding departmental honors will be made after the student submits the thesis. (PSYC 0201, PSYC 0202, and PSYC 0702; Approval required)
PSYC 1024 College Student Mental Health (Winter 2025)
In this course we will explore central mental health themes during early adulthood and the college experience. Topics will include identity development, sexual wellness, communication strategies and stress management. This course will utilize a variety of educational mediums, from research articles to popular psychological texts as well other media.Rita Munro, LICSW, is a mental health clinician in private practice in Middlebury with over 10 years of experience working with college-age clients./ WTR (R. Munro)
Department of Religion
RELI 0500 Independent Research (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRRELI 0700 Senior Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required)RELI 0701 Senior Research for Honors Candidates (Winter 2025)
Approval requiredRELI 1049 Children and Childhood in Antiquity (Winter 2025)
How did ancient childhood differ from ours? Were children the invisible ‘Other’ or a source of power in Mediterranean antiquity? This course explores childhood in classical Greece, Roman Italy, and Jewish Palestine by analyzing historical, literary, and archaeological evidence that attests to both philosophical thoughts on children and sociocultural practices regarding birth, childrearing, and death. We will see diverse understandings of physical, intellectual, and social aspects of children and how such understandings helped shape political agendas and religious ideas in antiquity. By reflecting upon the temporal differences and cross-cultural similarities between ancient and modern childhoods, we will ultimately ask how fresh insights into ancient children may help us revisit our own understanding of children and human life today. CMP, PHL, WTR (E. Lim)RELI 1051 Islam in Contemporary Morocco (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will first learn about the early history of Islam and its expansion into North Africa and then will move on to discuss the challenge of modernity and the onslaught of colonialism as experienced in the region. This will be followed by a 10-day travel to Morocco. Our goal will be to understand the complexity of the lived experience of Islam in Morocco. To do so, we will focus on a few salient issues such as gender dynamics, varying interpretations of Islam, and ethnic diversity/conflict, and the impact of Islam on contemporary political structure. We will engage with eminent Muslim intellectuals, exchange views with local students, meet with activists from minoritized backgrounds, and visit heritage sites. Students must apply for this course, the deadline for application is September 10th, 2024. MDE, PHL, WTR (A. Anzali, M. Orten)RELI 1054 Women in Islam (Winter 2025)
This course will explore Muslim women's religious roles, participation, and practices throughout the history of Islam and across various cultural contexts. Attention will be paid to the diversity of interpretations concerning Islamic textual prescriptions for women as well as legal discussions of women’s participation in religious and social life, and Muslims women's own articulations of feminism. We will also be attentive to the ways that Muslim women negotiate their everyday and religious lives and how this is intimately related to social location, economic situations, and shifting political realities. Students will develop a final project of their own choosing that also addresses the ethical issues of studying and writing about unfamiliar traditions both within and beyond our religious or cultural contexts. CMP, PHL, SOC, WTR (J. Ortegren)RELI 1056 Confronting the Jewish Past: A Tale of Two Cities (Winter 2025)
In this course we explore Jewish life in Berlin and Warsaw, its flourishing between the World Wars, its destruction in the Holocaust, and its revival in our times, focusing first on the history of Berlin and Warsaw Jewry: were Polish-Jewish immigrants to Berlin welcomed warmly as brothers or warily as strangers? Among German Jews, was their purported symbiosis with other Germans real or merely wishful thinking? Under Nazi rule how did the fate of the Jews of Berlin and Warsaw differ?In a two-week study tour of Berlin and Warsaw, we will focus on history and memory. How do these two cities commemorate the annihilation of the Jews and reckon with their distinct share of responsibility? We will seek to understand the “memory-work” reflected in monuments and museums, and in the cityscape itself. Back in Vermont for the last week, we will reflect on contested memory and apply what we have learned to contemporary issues: how does the memory of the Jewish past in central Europe figure in the current politics of these two societies? How can it help us understand other societies struggling to cope with shameful histories of oppression, exploitation, and genocide?
By instructor approval only. Students who applied during the admissions process in October and were accepted to take this course may register. EUR, HIS, PHL, WTR (R. Schine)
Cross-listed as:
JWST 1056 *
Department of Russian
RUSS 0102 Beginning Russian (Winter 2025)
This course is a continuation of RUSS 0101. (RUSS 0101 or equivalent) LNG, WTR (M. Walker, L. Battsaligova)RUSS 0500 Advanced Studies in Language and Literature (Winter 2025)
Supervised individual study for highly qualified students. (Approval required) WTRRUSS 0700 Senior Independent Study (Winter 2025)
(Approval required)Department of Sociology
SOCI 0500 Advanced Individual Study (Winter 2025)
Prior to registering for SOCI 0500, a student must enlist the support of a faculty advisor from the Department of Sociology. (Open to Majors only) (Approval Required) WTR (594 seats)SOCI 0700 One-Semester Senior Project (Winter 2025)
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a student will carry out an independent, one-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 25-40 pages, due the last day of classes.SOCI 0710 Multi-Semester Senior Project (Winter 2025)
Under the guidance of a faculty member, a senior will carry out an independent multi-semester research project, often based on original data. The student must also participate in a senior seminar that begins the first week of fall semester and meets as necessary during the rest of the year. The final product must be presented in a written report of 60-100 pages, due either at the end of the Winter Term or the Friday after spring break.SOCI 1010 The AI Gourmet: A Recipe for the Future (Winter 2025)
In this course, students will critically assess whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools democratize access to professional knowledge by generating a cookbook of recipes using AI-powered chatbots. During the activity, students will learn how AI tools generate content, ways in which AI tools enhance creativity and exploration, the pitfalls of AI tools (including bias, discrimination, and copyright violations), and why AI tools generate anxiety and fear yet also promise hope for a better future.Sarika Sharma is an Assistant Teaching Professor of First-Year Seminar. She teaches courses in organizational behavior and institutional change./ WTR (S. Sharma)
SOCI 1230 Data Science Across Disciplines (Winter 2025)
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning, large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Biology, Geography, History, Mathematics/Statistics and Sociology. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.BIOL 1230: Students enrolled in Professor Casey’s (Biology) afternoon section will use the tools of data science to investigate the drivers of tick abundance and tick-borne disease risk. To do this students will draw from a nation-wide ecological database.
GEOG 1230: In this section, we will investigate human vulnerability to natural hazards in the United States using location-based text data about hurricane and flood disasters from social media. We will analyze data qualitatively, temporally, and spatially to gain insights into the human experience of previous disasters and disaster response. We will present findings using spatial data visualizations with the aim of informing future disaster preparedness and resilience.
HIST 1230: In U.S. history, racial differences and discrimination have powerfully shaped who benefited from land and farm ownership. How can historians use data to understand the history of race and farming? Students will wrangle county- and state-level data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture from 1840-1912 to create visualizations and apps that allow us to find patterns in the history of race and land, to discover new questions we might not know to ask, and to create tools to better reveal connections between race, land, and farming for a general audience.
STAT 1230: In this course students will dive into the world of data science by focusing on invasive species monitoring data. Early detection is crucial to controlling many invasive species; however, there is a knowledge gap regarding the sampling effort needed to detect the invader early. In this course, we will work with decades of invasive species monitoring data collected across the United States to better understand how environmental variables play a role in the sampling effort required to detect invasive species. Students will gain experience in the entire data science pipeline, but the primary focus will be on data scraping, data visualization, and communication of data-based results to scientists and policymakers.
SOCI 1230: Do sports fans care about climate change? Can sports communication be used to engage audiences on environmental sustainability? In this section of the course, students will use the tools of data science to examine whether interest in sports is associated with climate change knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, as well as other political opinions. Participants will use survey data to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses about the relationship between sports fandom and attitudes about environmental sustainability. DED, WTR (M. Gerke, A. Lyford)
Spanish and Portuguese
South Asian Studies Minor
Department of Studio Art
ART 0323 Watercolor Painting (Winter 2025)
In this studio course we will explore the techniques and principles of watercolor painting through guided exercises and individual projects. Students will work from observation and invention to develop a familiarity with this versatile medium, paying special attention to color mixing and color theory. We will also examine historical and contemporary examples of watercolor painting from around the world. (Any 100-level Studio Art course). ART, WTR (R. White)ART 0500 Special Project (Winter 2025)
Supervised independent work with a special project proposed by a student or a collaboration between a student and a faculty member on a special project. Admission by permission of a faculty member. 3 hrs. lect. WTRART 1032 The Art of Science: Drawing Nature's Forms (Winter 2025)
In this studio course we will draw from life. Before the advent of photography, natural history art, in addition to celebrating nature’s beauty, served as an important translator of scientific knowledge. The College’s rich natural history collections (mounted specimens, preserved specimens, eggs, study skins, skeletons, herbaria, live specimens in the greenhouse, etc.) will become both our laboratory and studio where we will investigate, inspect, and record nature, and gain inspiration from it. We will acquire knowledge of natural forms through sustained direct observation and drawing. Artistic media will include graphite, charcoal, gouache, watercolor, ink, and tempera. We will examine examples of natural history art from cultures around the world, from its beginnings to today’s digital scientific illustration. No prerequisites.Kate Gridley is an award-winning artist whose works are in museums and private collections in the U.S. and abroad. Her work includes portraiture, landscapes, still-lives and botanical illustration in an array of media, including oil paint, graphite, pastel, watercolor, gouache, and egg tempera. Website: kategridley.com ART, WTR (K. Gridley)
ART 1033 Painting in Oil (Winter 2025)
A comprehensive beginning oil painting class exploring multiple subjects beginning with a refresh of applied color theory and principles of design. Over four weeks we will work in class from the live model with outside assignments of self-portraiture, interior spaces, and still life subjects. Studio work will be accompanied by weekly image lectures on historical movements from 20th-century modernism to contemporary painting. One previous studio course.Brian Cirmo is an internationally exhibiting artist and a 2023 recipient of the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant for American painters from the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Solo exhibitions include Where Teardrops Fall, 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, New York, NY and Projektraum FN, All the Feels, Friedrichshafen, Germany. Artist residencies include the Saltonstall Foundation, the Lake Constance Cultural Department, Salem, Germany, The Vermont Studio Center, and the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency./ ART, WTR (B. Cirmo)
ART 1034 Touching the Surface: Drawing in Latin America (Winter 2025)
This course is designed to get students acquainted with foundational drawing techniques while also exploring different artists and artistic movements in Latin America who have redefined the medium through their own contexts and approaches to experimentation. We will study artists such as Lygia Clark, Belkis Ayón, Carmen Herrera, Beatriz González, Marisol, María Izquierdo, Felipe Baez, and Teresita Fernandez and unpack artistic movements that shape Latin American art as we know it today which span from around the 14th century to art being made today. Throughout the course, we will question what is considered Latin American and expand our geographical delineations that include Latinx American artists who bring their ancestral histories with them beyond borders and tongues. Dry and wet media will be used as well as some basic sculptural techniques to get a better understanding on the volumetric qualities of depicting space and figures. Students will learn foundational drawing skills such as composition, scale, negative/positive space, contour lines, tonal values, line quality, and personal style. There will be regular class critiques.Estefania Puerta Grisales is a recent recipient of the 2024 Rome Prize in Visual Arts and has exhibited internationally. She graduated from Yale School of Art in 2018 and currently lives and works in Burlington, Vermont./ ART, WTR (E. Puerta)
Program in Theatre
THEA 0500 Intermediate Independent Project (Winter 2025)
In consultation with their advisors, theatre majors in design may propose a THEA 0500 Intermediate Independent Project. Preliminary proposal forms approved by the student's advisor will be submitted to the program by March 1st of the preceding academic year for those wanting credit in the fall or winter terms and by October 1st for those wanting credit in the spring term. Projects will conform to the guidelines that are available in the theatre office. Students are required to attend a weekly THEA 0500/0700 seminar. WTRTHEA 0505 Intermediate Independent Project (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTR (S. Jack, C. Medeiros, A. Draper, M. Evancho, C. Smith, M. Biancosino, D. Yeaton, O. Sanchez Saltveit)THEA 0700 Senior Independent Project (Winter 2025)
Senior work is required. In consultation with their advisors, theatre majors may propose a THEA 0700 Independent Project. Preliminary proposal forms approved by the student's advisor will be submitted to the program by March 1st of the preceding academic year for those wanting credit in the fall or winter terms and by October 1st for those wanting credit in the spring term. Projects will conform to the guidelines that are available in the theatre office. Students are required to attend a weekly THEA 0500/0700 seminar. WTR (O. Sanchez Saltveit)THEA 1033 Middlebury’s Historic Clothing Collection: Conservation, Documentation, and Interpretation Practicum (Winter 2025)
Middlebury College is the proud owner of an historic teaching collection of over 400 pieces of antique clothing and accessories. However, the collection is poorly curated and remains largely hidden, stored away in the lower level of Wright Theatre. In this practicum/seminar, students will inventory and document the collection with the expertise of a textile historian and a costume designer; further conserve and physically stabilize the collection by improving its storage; and update and expand the online database, making the entire collection digitally available to on- and off- campus audiences alike. AMR, ART, HIS, WTR (S. Jack)Cross-listed as:
HARC 1033
Writing and Rhetoric Program
WRPR 0500 Independent Research (Winter 2025)
(Approval Required) WTRWRPR 1007 Research/Service Grant Writing (Winter 2025)
This course teaches grant writing, a technical skill that can advance careers in academia, research, government, nonprofits/NGOs, and activism. Student will gain practical, hands-on-experience with technical writing by first workshopping a personal essay for graduate school fellowship, or job applications. Then, students will write and revise a grant proposal for an organization, with the option of collaborating with a local nonprofit. The course also covers topics like nonprofit fundraising, program evaluation, nonprofit management, equity in grant-making, AI’s role in grant writing, and job seeking in the nonprofit sector. Students will leave with two applied writing samples for their own opportunities after graduation.After considerable trial and error, Nicole Conti (HARC ’09, first-generation college student) has transformed her liberal arts education into a successful career as a grants and evaluation professional in the robust philanthropic environment in Minnesota. Her goal with this course is to provide current students with the practical and technical skills that she wishes she had upon graduating./ CW, WTR (N. Conti)