Cascade Spring 2023
Course Catalog

Are you a FOODIE? Food is such an essential part of human life and our eating behaviors indicate cultures, our biological compositions, and socio-political aspects of human life throughout history. Through this course, which mainly includes readings and discussions, you can learn how food and the act of eating are viewed anthropologically and how such an anthropological view of such everyday human behavior suggests about us as homo sapiens.

Come and explore the exciting world of audio engineering! In this class, we will study concepts in physics, electrical engineering, and computer science centered on the theme of how technology is used to manipulate music and sound. That is the fundamentals of the technology that supports your favorite musical artists. Important topics that we will cover include the physics and perception of sound waves; how audio signals are represented by technology; the engineering behind microphones and speakers; and how signals can be manipulated using technology.

Since its release 18 years ago, millions have fallen in love with the hit series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Part of what makes this show so good, apart from its stellar storyline and iconic moments, are the simple yet profound inspiration we can take from it. In this class we seek just some of these "life lessons." We will discuss lore and worldbuilding, healthy and unhealthy "ships," our favorite Uncle Iroh quotes, Zuko's character arc, and more!


Prerequisites
Anyone who is interested is welcome to join! However, I recommend students have some familiarity with the show before the first class.

Vaccine facts, opinions, and fictions are all around us. Vaccine education, on the other hand, is a little less common. In this class, we will look at vaccinations from an immunology, global health, and policy perspective. Using case studies like ebola, smallpox, and COVID19, we will discuss the science and sociology that goes into vaccination, learning their strengths and pitfalls in the process.


Prerequisites
some biology background (can be middle-school biology)

Join UChicago Emergency Medical Services to learn about providing basic life support to patients and CPR! We will cover the basics of patient interaction and taking vitals.

Memories are foundational to our sense of self. They tell us where we've been, inform who we are, and shape who we want to be. But how exactly are memories formed and where are they stored in the brain? Why do some brain diseases cause memory loss? Is there anything we can do to fix these malfunctions?

In this course, we'll take a dive into memories through a neuroscientific perspective. We'll start with nervous system basics, explore different types of memory, and finally ask what can cause memories to malfunction (with a focus on neurodegenerative diseases), and discuss what solutions modern medicine has to alleviate these problems.

Electric cars, rockets, and video game consoles -- these are just few examples of technologies that have revolutionized human development within the last century. How do we even begin to analyze these complex systems in hopes of improving them for future generations? Well, application of simple principles allows one to go quite far in understanding the structure, behavior, and limitations of such systems. In particular, Newtonian mechanics provides a very solid framework for gaining insight into complex systems. This course aims to show students how the basic principles of mechanics can be used to break down systems into bite-sized pieces that are easier to understand. By the end of the course, students will have obtained a deeper appreciation for mechanics and how it is used to make sense of an increasingly complex world.

Cognitive science is a quickly growing new field which studies how the mind works. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science, we will discuss the questions cognitive scientists study and the fascinating discoveries they have made so far. Our topics will include perception, reasoning, language, artificial intelligence, and more. By the end of our course together, you will gain important insights into what your mind is and how it might work!

Roughly 1.8 million people in the US will be diagnosed with cancer this year- but what exactly is this disease? This course will be a broad introduction to cancer biology and current field research. Topics will include cell cycle dysregulation, mechanisms of chemotherapeutics and radiation, introduction to immunotherapy, gene therapy, global and US-based health disparities, and what researchers are doing to better understand the disease.


Prerequisites
Some cell biology preferred, but not required