Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
On-Campus Course Schedule for Summer 2025

Culture of Conspiracy in Amer

Note: Much has been written about the culture of conspiracy in modern America. What can be misleading is that there is much that is not new about this culture. A conspiracy subculture has existed in America since its founding. Its targets and means of communication have varied, but its underlying beliefs persist, including America’s sense of mission, its belief in its exceptionalism, the persistent fear of “the enemy within,” and the threat it poses to the nation’s peace and stability. As one historian has put it: “A river of conspiracy flows through the wild lands of American history,” and we need to know the whole story as it is reflected in the nation’s politics and culture.

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

DLS Directed Reading

Found of American Constitution

Note: This course is only open to students in the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation Summer Institute. This course meets from June 14 - July 11, 2025

MALS Continuous Reg. (HT)

Note: This course is for MALS students who need an additional semester to complete their thesis and should only be taken after MALS Thesis Writing.

Science, Society and AI

The modern history of science and technological discoveries to the present are surveyed, to track methods of empirical inquiry and examine major impacts of theories on the understanding of humans, our capabilities, and our interactions with each other and the world. Through standpoints from science, innovations in technosciences, and incorporations of artificial intelligence into our capabilities, it is possible to reimagine and reinterpret how we experience life and engage with the social world. Scientific advances powerfully interact with the cultural context of moral norms, social institutions, political forces, and legal regulations, which in turn shape the utilization of emerging technosciences. This course examines these engagements from the 1940s to the present day and into the near-future. The course emphasizes the public understanding of science and technology, the growing role of AI in academic and professional fields, ethical viewpoints on technosciences, and broader social impacts due to technoscience on global scales.