Below are WAYS 103 Seminars that will be offered in Spring 2027.
How is sex defined? How many sexes are there? Two? What if I told you that there are dozens of recognized differences of sexual development where people do not fall conveniently into one of two boxes? And sex is different than gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. In this course, we will discuss sex and gender from biological and social perspectives. By examining published research and reading and listening to first-person accounts on sex and gender from members of various communities and cultures, we will gain a better understanding of the complexity of the lives we live as sexed and gendered people.
For over 400 years classical music has been dominated by white men. Until pretty recently, if you went out for a night at the opera or an orchestra concert you would think women and BIPOC individuals simply had no interest in classical music because they weren't represented by the pieces you heard or the performers you saw. Thankfully, the world of classical music is becoming more diverse and inclusive. This class will explore diversity as it has evolved on the concert stage by examining selected concert programs from past and present performances at the Crane School of Music. What music should Crane perform next year? How about in 2030? You will finish the semester by designing YOUR idea of a diverse and inclusive concert program.
As older generations retire, US workers are drawn from an increasingly diverse pool. Gone are the days when certain positions were restricted to white male workers. For example, in many fields, the workforce is now equally divided between men and women, and people of color have increasingly joined all workplaces. But does this represent true equality? Recent research shows that while there are equal employment opportunities, it is still overwhelmingly men who have access to the higher levels and leadership positions in many professions. Our course will explore the increasing diversity of the American workplace, and the many remaining barriers women & people of color face in their careers.
In this course, students will be tasked with the impossible: the creation of new worlds. After studying the principles of Universal Design, investigating some of the ways in which our current world was not built for disabled bodies, and reading some examples of fiction written by and about disabled people, students will write their own works of short fiction in which they craft worlds whose basic operations can be fulfilled by a diverse array of bodies. By writing new worlds, worlds free from the history of bias against disabled bodies, perhaps we can imagine how we might productively change our current world for the better.
How do gender and sexuality impact the music we consume or perform? (And how has this occurred historically?) How does thinking about embodiment or performance connect music with gender and sexuality? This course will explore these questions and the intersections of music, gender, and sexuality with social class, disability, age, and race via a range of repertoires and musicians, including 20th and 21st-century American popular musics.
Maps hold a special place in society and have been used for thousands of years. We trust maps without question, but maps have been lying to us since the beginning. However, just because they have been lying to us that does not stop them from being important. We will spend the semester examining and discussing: what maps are, why they are all lying, how maps and their lies have influenced the way we think about the world and ourselves, how the lies of maps can be used against others, and who might be harmed by the lies maps tell. We’ll practice speaking and explaining how maps contain biases and what they’re capable of communicating.
This course explores the intersections of mindfulness practices and diversity, focusing on how mindfulness can enhance our understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Students will examine various contemplative traditions and practices, alongside critical discussions on race, gender, sexuality, ability, and socio-economic factors. Through readings, discussions, experiential exercises, and reflective assignments, students will develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others within diverse social contexts.