Splash Biography

Have you ever wanted to speak like President Obama? How about sound convincing like Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan? Win a debate like “The Great Debaters”? If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then this is the class for you. We will introduce the basic ideas of debate, like making claims, finding supporting evidence, and organizing arguments. We’ll also learn how to overcome the fears of public speaking by giving short speeches, having debates, and learning from some members of the UChicago Congressional Debate Team. No experience in debate or public speaking is necessary.

Have you ever wanted to invest your money, and end up with more? This course will introduce the basics of investing, beginning with standard types of bank accounts and interest rates. The second part of the course will consist of an introduction to the stock market, including the basics of what a share of stock is, why companies issue stock, how and why people trade stock, and how people who do this as a job judge a company’s stock’s value. Believe it or not, you can become an owner of McDonald’s, Ford, or Apple – for a much lower price than you may think. Beginning in Week 2, you will participate in a virtual stock market game, with you forming groups of 2-4 making up a team that has its own account online and invests the money as they choose, trying to end up with the most money by the end of the course.