Detailed Schedule

Visual schedule here.

Friday 29 January

7:00 PM in SCI 101
BREAKING BARRIERS with Swarthmore faculty, staff, and students
Sharing knowledge within, across, and beyond disciplines
A round table discussion on communication between groups that would not normally communicate, spanning from interdisciplinary communication to communication between academia and the greater world and accessibility of academia in general.

Saturday 30 January

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM in SCI 158
FRACTALS AND CHAOS with Aaron Wagener
The beauty of rough edges in mathematics
What's the connection between coastlines, ferns, and your cell-phone antenna? Why is it hard to predict the weather? What is a Mandelbrot set anyway? In this class we'll answer these questions by studying chaos and fractals, fields that deal with feedback loops, infinitely repeating details, and lots of crinkled edges. We'll see that systems with very simple rules can have completely unpredictable behaviour, and that mapping them leads to some very pretty pictures. If you've ever been bored all of the perfect shapes in math, this is the class for you. No college math background is necessary.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM in SCI 101
HOW DO BIRDS FLY? with Tessa Rhinehart and Professor Sara Hiebert Burch
Get the facts about one of nature's most spectacular flying machines.
Wings are only one of many features needed for a bird to take to the air. In this course, we will discuss the adaptations that allow our feathered friends to soar, hover, and perform other aerial feats. We will also consider some theories about why birds initially evolved the ability to fly.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM in SCI 145
HIP HOP HABITATS with Harsha Sen (continued on Sunday)
A look at the contexts that bred (and continue to breed) hip hop, and the contexts that hip hop creates
This course will discuss the musical history, geography, and socioeconomics of hip hop. What makes this urban folk culture so vibrant, able to take root all over the planet? How does it change our ideas of cool, and shape the cultures it comes into contact with? And can we ever really define it without essentialising it? By listening to selections from 40 years' worth of hip hop, the class hopes to instill a deeper appreciation of the music and art that touched so many lives.

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM in SCI 145
EVERYONE DOODLES with David Holmgren (continued on Sunday)
Make art approachable again
This workshop will try to make art approachable for all of its participants. It is open to and encouraging of all levels of drawing experience and aims to encourage participants to incorporate art into their daily lives. There will be peer critique available for participants who are interested in pursuing technical improvements.

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM in SCI 104
CANTONESE? SAP SAP SEUI 濕濕碎!! with Wendy Wu and Natasha Chak
Why a supposedly hard language isn't as impossible as you thought
What does the course title even mean? As one of the most significant dialects of the Chinese language, Cantonese is spoken by more than 55 million people in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, and many different countries around the world. In this class we'll learn the basic structure and pronunciations of Cantonese, along with slangs upon request. Make sure you have the desire and passion and are ready to make it fun! As Nelson Mandela said, "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
This course will be continued on a future weekend.

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM in SCI 145
ART = FIRE + ALGEBRA with Natalia Sucher
The cosmic and geometrical structure of Dante's Divine Comedy and Plato's dialogues in context of contemporary theoretical physics
I will explore how the monumental thinker-artists Plato and Dante used astronomy, geometry, and symbolism to express their ideas of what it means to exist, create, and love. I will elucidate the mathematical structure of the Divine Comedy in relation to the theories of the universe's structure Plato develops in his dialogues. The class will also discuss the contemporary divide between science and art and propose different ways to merge the two.

3:30 PM - 5:30 PM in SCI 104
CARBON PRICING with Nathaniel Graf
Exploration of a policy solution to decarbonize our society
Scientists and the United Nations agree that we urgently need to decarbonize the world's economy to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but unfortunately, developing a cohesive policy to totally restructure the global energy supply can be... a bit difficult. Carbon taxes are a promising and simple method to sharply curtail fossil fuel extraction. We'll explore the theory and goal of carbon pricing; how it compares to the more popular cap-and-trade schemes; how low-level carbon prices in other nations have worked; why carbon pricing is not currently on the U.S. legislative agenda; and how Swarthmore students can help change that in Pennsylvania through the Clean Power Plan.

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM in the Matchbox's Tarble Commons
WHAT IS BALLET? with Gabriela Brown
A beginners introduction of the history, dance technique, biomechanics, and stretching methodology of Ballet.
Have you ever wondered how ballerinas dance on their toes? This course will demystify such questions and introduce you to the culture and mechanics of Ballet, starting with its origins in the courts of Louis XIV. We will also cover basic movements, the importance of dancing within the limits of your own body, and effective methods of stretching. Please wear something you can freely move in, but don't worry about how you look - this is not intended to be a formal dance class, so sweatpants are ok!

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM in SCI 158
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE & WHOLESOMENESS with Jasmine Jimenez
An analysis of character, consequence, and conferment
This course will be a deeper look at the iconic sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. The class will offer insight into the character and narrative development behind the show and what they represent in 21st Century American culture. The class will dissect the different elements, themes, and archetypes of the critically acclaimed classic to understand its appeal, popularity, commentary, and relevance.
A list of recommended viewing for this course can be found here.

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM in SCI 145
MATH BETWEEN THE FOLDS with Josh Mundinger (continued on Sunday)
Investigating exactly what can be made with Origami
What geometric figures can you construct by only folding a piece of paper? We'll learn how to cut any angle into three equal pieces, a construction the Ancient Greeks could not do. We'll expose the math behind this fact, which stems from the work of Évariste Galois.

Sunday 31 January

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM in SCI 104
RACE AND THE AMERICAN SITCOM with Celine Anderson
From radio to television
We will discuss the history of how racial minorities have been portrayed in television sitcoms from the 1950s to present day. This will include analyzing clips, looking at the roles of various sitcom actors, and asking questions about representation with an eye towards production related concerns such as "target audiences." There will be a particular emphasis on sitcom episodes that deal explicitly with race/racial conflict like certain episodes of Bewitched as well as A Different World. We will ask key questions such as: What makes something a "minority specific show?" How has diversity developed in family sitcoms? And has modern television made any attempts to lift the curtain on how shows are made with regards to race? If you love to watch TV, this is the course for you!

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM in SCI 145
HIP HOP HABITATS with Harsha Sen (continued from Saturday)
A look at the contexts that bred (and continue to breed) hip hop, and the contexts that hip hop creates
This course will discuss the musical history, geography, and socioeconomics of hip hop. What makes this urban folk culture so vibrant, able to take root all over the planet? How does it change our ideas of cool, and shape the cultures it comes into contact with? And can we ever really define it without essentialising it? By listening to selections from 40 years' worth of hip hop, the class hopes to instill a deeper appreciation of the music and art that touched so many lives.

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM in the Beardsley Media Center
INTRODUCTION TO 3D PRINTING with ITS ( pre-register here, registration required)
Learn how to design and print your own 3D objects
In this workshop, we'll go over the basics of 3D printing and then you will get started designing your own object. If you prefer creating artistic objects, you will be doing virtual 3D sculpting. If you are more interested in engineering, you will be using a 3D CAD (computer-aided design) program. Swarthmore ITS has a 3D printer available for academic use (courtesy of the Engineering Department). At the end of the workshop, we'll cover how to actually print out your part. All participants will be able to print a copy of their design to keep.

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM in SCI 158
COLORING QUEER with PersuAsian
Understanding and supporting the experiences of queer and trans people of colour
A discussion style course that aims to center the narratives of queer and trans people of colour by discussing the specific challenges of being a QTPOC and having experiences shaped by racism, queer phobia, and colonialism and discuss and brainstorm ways to be a better ally.

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM in SCI 145
EVERYONE DOODLES with David Holmgren (continued from Saturday)
Make art approachable again
This workshop will try to make art approachable for all of its participants. It is open to and encouraging of all levels of drawing experience and aims to encourage participants to incorporate art into their daily lives. There will be peer critique available for participants who are interested in pursuing technical improvements.

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM in SCI 102
STORYTELLING AND RADICAL EMPATHY WORKSHOP with Abby Holtzman, Mira Revesz, and Aaron Wagener
Learn the basics of spoken storytelling and connect to fellow students during a culminating "radical empathy" story exchange
The first half of class will be dedicated to discussing elements of oral narratives, including plot, character development, and sensory description. This section will include practice through warm-up exercises and creative prompts. Next, we will use our new skills in a "radical empathy" story exchange, which is a technique developed by writer Colum McCann and the Narrative 4 nonprofit. Storytelling is an essential component of being a resilient and empathic human, and connecting to other humans. Storytelling is a huge part of memory, surviving trauma, and conceptualizing our own identities and our relationships to others. Narrative is a key focus of much recent psychology research, and storytelling is used is all sorts of settings, from narrative medicine to academia. Also we will have snacks. (Taught by the co-founders and leaders of The Unreliable Narrators, Swarthmore's story club).

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM in SCI 158
WIKIPEDIA AND WHY with Michael McConville
How to make a difference by sharing your knowledge on Wikipedia
Wikipedia is the single largest source of knowledge. Improvements you make will be seen by tens of thousands or more readers each month. Getting started is the hardest part, and I'm happy to help. This will be a social workshop, so come ready to collaborate on improving something you care about!

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM in SCI 104
FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS with Multi
Love for and from the Multi perspective
A discussion-based course that explores how coming from different backgrounds (whether that's racially, ethnically, socioeconomically...etc) affects relationships. We will look at the Multi Bill of Rights (Root, 1996), and a variety of other sources to kick off the discussion, but then let the conversation follow its own path with appropriate facilitation provided by members of the group Multi.

3:30 PM - 5:30 PM in Lodge 6
HOW TO SOUND LIKE NPR with War News Radio
Podcast Journalism Workshop with War News Radio
Founded in 2005, War News Radio is an award-winning production of Swarthmore College. Come visit us in Lodge 6 to learn the basics of podcast journalism, including interview skills, writing for radio, voicing a radio piece, and audio editing. No journalistic experience necessary.

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM in the Matchbox's Tarble Commons
CONTACT ME with Terpsichore
Learn the basics of Contact Improvisation dance with Terpsichore!
Contact Improvisation (CI) was developed in the 60s and 70s. It emphasizes communication through physical contact between bodies. This class will teach the basics of CI, including shared weight, momentum, and rolling. The class will end with a Contact Improv "jam," in which participants will be able to dance freely and try out their newly learned CI skills. All movement experiences and abilities welcome. Please come open to sharing touch with others.

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM in SCI 145
MATH BETWEEN THE FOLDS with Josh Mundinger (continued from Saturday)
Investigating exactly what can be made with Origami
What geometric figures can you construct by only folding a piece of paper? We'll learn how to cut any angle into three equal pieces, a construction the Ancient Greeks could not do. We'll expose the math behind this fact, which stems from the work of Évariste Galois.

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM in Danawell Connector
IMPROV COMEDY WORKSHOP with Vertigo-go
Come learn how to play improv games with Swarthmore's improv comedy group, Vertigo-go!
In this workshop, Swarthmore's improv comedy group, Vertigo-go, will teach participants a series of fun games that help facilitate the use of creativity and spontaneity to make people laugh. Come learn how to be present in the moment and channel your creativity. Wear clothing you're comfortable moving around in because this is a "doing" workshop.

9:00 PM in Kohlberg's Scheuer Room
CLOSING COLLECTION
All are welcome!