Splash Biography

Chicago is a racially diverse city, but most of its neighborhoods are not diverse. Many neighborhoods on the South and West sides are over 95% black, while many North side neighborhoods and suburbs are mostly white. In this class, we will learn the history of how Chicago (and similarity many other cities across the nation) became so segregated. If segregation is harmful, then what makes it harmful, and who is affected? Moreover, what can we do to try to end residential segregation? We will discuss these questions in class, so come prepared to talk!

You may have heard about the mysterious object in outer space that ensnare everything in their path and are so powerful that even light cannot escape. Did you know that there is a black hole 4 million times heavier than the sun that holds our galaxy together? How it is possible that a black hole can be extremely heavy but take up no space? How is it possible that light cannot escape from a black hole, and is there anything that can escape from a black hole? Sign up for this class if you want to learn the answers to these questions!

How does one determine right from wrong? Two centuries ago, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed a solution: an action is considered good if the pleasure that it produces outweighs the pain. In this class, we will examine this theory, known as utilitarianism, and debate whether it is possible to quantify pleasure and pain in the manner that Bentham proposed. We will also examine some criticisms of utilitarianism in order to arrive at our conclusion about how to determine right from wrong.

What creates an ideal society, what creates a flawed or unjust society, and how do we tell the difference between the two? For centuries, people have used literature to express their answers to these questions For centuries, people have used literature to express their answers to these questions by writing novels that portray dystopias - societies that are marred by oppressive governments, social inequality, or lack of individual freedom. In this class, we will examine the societies depicted in the Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World, Harrison Bergeron, and possibly other novels. We will analyze the authors' opinion about why flawed or unjust societies arise, and how they are able to persist. We will then discuss whether we agree with their opinions, and finally, we will create or our dystopian world based on our own ideas of what society should be.

What creates an ideal society? What creates a flawed or unjust society? How do we determine whether a society is ideal or flawed? For centuries, people have used literature to express their answers to these questions. In this class, we will look at works of fiction that portray dystopias, or societies that are marred by oppressive governments, social inequality, or lack of individual freedom. We will see what happens when the status quo is challenged in these societies, and we will try to come up with your own answers to the above questions.

Have you ever played around with a cube or some other three-dimensional object? You notice that you get many different images if you rotate the cube or slice it at some angle (known as taking a cross-section). What does a four-dimensional cube look like, and what happens if you do similar things with the 4-cube? How many corners or edges would a 4-cube have? Although we cannot actually construct a 4-cube, we will construct a model of a 4-cube that will allow us to answer these questions. We will also watch a crazy video with animations that include rotations and 3-dimensional cross-sections of the 4-cube, with some intriguing and perplexing results.

Do you want to learn how your favorite poets or songwriters create lyrics that have a natural flow? Or do you aspire to become a poet or a songwriter yourself? Then this class is for you! This class will teach the basics of how to write in rhyme and meter, the qualities that give poetry its sense of rhythm. We will begin with an introduction to some commonly used types of meters such as iambic pentameter, and other commonly used rhyme structures such as sonnet and limerick. We will analyze several poems and songs as examples, ranging from Wordsworth to Dr. Seuss to any popular music song (you get to choose). Then we will learn how to make almost any sentence fit whatever meter or rhyme scheme we want, simply by playing around with words. At the end of class, we will write a short poem together, with a topic of your choice. If we have enough time, we will also take a look at some less commonly used techniques such as alliteration and assonance. If you don't know what these words are, don't worry - you will learn if you take this class, and you will become a master poet!