Social Change Courses @ Northeastern

Course Number: THTR

Department: Theatre (THTR)

Covers several great practitioners of theatre. Focuses on how social behavior influenced the thought and craft of playwrights, actors, directors, designers, and theorists as well as how society was influenced by drama and theatre. Emphasizes how the play’s ideas are translated into performance. Uses video, discussion, and live performance, when possible, as integral elements to the course.

Course Number: ARCH 2370

Department: Architecture (ARCH)

Focus will be on “Extraction Landscapes” that historicizes the extraction capital from the eighteenth century to the present. The class would look at commodities (oil, sugar, gold, etc.) and examine their extraction and refinement methods, systems of exchange, and waste streams. A significant focus from a social justice standpoint would be labor politics of extraction, geopolitics of exchange, and environmental pollutants. The class will be a combination of reading seminar looking at scholarship on resource histories, and a design-research seminar (where groups of students research a specific commodity and produce visual data regarding extraction, refinement, and waste), or some combination.

Course Number: ARCH 2370

Department: Architecture (ARCH)

Covers a variety of topics in architectural history and theory. Taught by faculty according to their interests and expertise.

Course Number: CIVE 5373

Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering (CIVE)

Discusses urban transportation planning and engineering for modes other than highway. Covers travel demand forecasting for both the short and long term including impact analysis methods, simple elasticity models, and the four-step model system of trip generation, trip distribution, modal split, and network assignment. Introduces transit service analysis and design. Other topics include capacity, service, and engineering design basics for different travel modes, such as bus, airport, rail, and bicycle. Considers the environmental impact, economic evaluation, and financial impact of different modes of transportation.

Course Number: ARCH 1450

Department: Architecture (ARCH)

Introduces undergraduates at all levels to the importance of design thinking as a method of critical inquiry and creative expression. Class meetings include lectures and discussions on the power of design thinking to shape diverse facets of the natural and built environment—from cities and landscapes, to buildings and interiors, to the scale of the human body. In addition to class presentations, hands-on workshops introduce students to a range of tools and tactics for working creatively and iteratively through design and prototyping.

Course Number: PHTH 6208

Department: Public Health (PHTH)

Offers students an opportunity to develop a basic understanding of the complex public health issues confronting urban communities across the nation. Uses a community organization and development framework for public health practice. Seeks to provide skills, tools, and experiential learning opportunities that result in community assessments that may be used in public health planning, programming, and policy. Covers key principles and methods for conducting community health assessments utilizing a range of quantitative and qualitative methods, including community epidemiology, major data sets, surveillance data, behavioral risk and other population-based surveys, as well as other primary and secondary data sources. Includes collaborative and interactive exercises, including self- and group reflection, Internet and contemporary media exploration, and in-class discussions. Requires permission of instructor for students outside designated programs.