Suggested Program Tracks

Business Ethics
Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist. Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations. Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large. 3 hrs. lect./dsc

Finance, Regulation, and Policy
With recent financial scandals and crises, an important question is whether the finance industry should be regulated and should undergo further policy reforms. Many scholars and policy experts contend that the current system is simply not designed to make policy choices on behalf of the public. In this course we will explore current financial innovations (e.g., mutual funds, hedge funds, securitizations, cryptocurrencies, just to name a few) and potential policy options in order to protect “Main Street” from “Wall Street”. Additionally, we will explore the manner in which modern finance has grown out of powerful theories, both mathematical and psychological. 3 hrs. lect.

Sustainable Finance
In this course we will posit the rationale for Sustainable Finance, which aims to facilitate business propositions and accelerate capital allocation to initiatives that benefit society, the environment, employees, customers, and investors alike. The starting point will be the traditional building blocks of finance. From these foundations, we will assess the impact of Sustainable Finance decisions on different societal crisis points (climate change, health pandemic, social inequality and injustice, financial crisis, etc.) The course will question what the individual can do, in the face of the sustainability crisis, through innovative (finance-driven) initiative. The course offering will be deeply anchored around project based learning principles, exploring innovative finance and sustainable framework solutions away from the singular focus of short-term financial profit maximization. (ECON 0265, INTD 0120, INTD 0217, or by instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect., 3 hrs. lab.

Quant Finance (Statistical Models of the Stock Market)
In this course we will learn about quantitative finance and the stock market specifically. We will focus on how the stock market works and what it means to be a “quant”. Students will use Matlab extensively or another statistical package to build models that predict future stock movements. Morning lectures/discussions will focus on the workings of the stock market and the inefficiencies that might be present. In afternoons “lab” sessions and as “homework” students will work by themselves or in teams (with the instructor’s help) to build actual models of future stock prices. Students will learn not only how to build those models but also how to evaluate how effective they are. It would be very useful if the interested student had some previous coding experience or took a matlab tutorial before the class starts. (BIOL 0211 or CSCI 0145 or CSCI 0150 or ECON 0210 or MATH 0116 or PSYC 0201 or STAT 0116 or Instructor Approval)

Scott Smallwood has worked in the hedge fund field for 15 years and is currently running his own small quantitative hedge fund./

Financial Analysis
In this course we will learn basic accounting and corporate finance concepts and apply them to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Students will develop in-depth language skills for interpreting financial information (by way of case studies and the textbook) used to make decisions for shareholders, stakeholders, and government, and we will reflect on the impact of these decisions on society writ large. Topics of accounting ethics, corporate governance, and financial frauds will also be discussed in a liberal arts context.

David R. Miller is an experienced private equity investor and strategy consultant. His career included positions at a middle-market focused private equity firm, as well in investment banking and strategy consulting. David, with his wife Sonya and their two daughters, lived in Chicago for many years before moving to Charleston, SC, and more recently to just outside of Newport, RI. David earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign./

Introduction to Real Estate Development and Finance
Urban planning and policy can shape cities, but in most cases our environment is actually built, project by project, by individual developers, whose choices of land use, building types, construction methods and operations are shaped by economic factors. Private equity funds, non-profit housing trusts, retailers, hotel operators and entrepreneurs all must grapple with the costs and risks, and potential returns and social impacts of a development project. Students in this course will learn the fundamentals of development, including the valuation of land and structures, financing with debt and equity, non-profit mission-driven development, modeling investment flows and managing risk.

Originally trained as an architect, David Hamilton has managed and consulted on innovative development and construction projects in tech office, healthcare, housing and farmland conservation. He teaches at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and is the co-author of Professional Real Estate Development, ULI Press./

Business Ethics
Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist. Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations. Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large. 3 hrs. lect./dsc

Marketing: Formulation, Methods, and Research
Marketing is both a qualitative and a quantitative discipline. It is one of the rare business fields that actively draws upon and integrates the creative and analytical components of the liberal arts tradition. In this course students will be exposed to a broad overview of marketing principles, focusing on the application of marketing theory to for-profit, not-for-profit, and the public sectors. Cause marketing and social marketing techniques will also be discussed to determine their utility in combating social ills and promoting favorable public health behaviors and outcomes. As the implementation of marketing programs is undergoing a massive transformation from conventional to digital media, students will be exposed to digital designing and marketing, which are driven by a sound understanding of consumer segmentation, brand positioning, distinct product benefits, and relevant in-market executions. (INTD 0120) Introductory statistics course recommended. 3 hrs. lect.

Public Management: Creating Public Value
In this course, we will learn how a public administrator/manager is qualitatively different from a manager in the private sector and the nonprofit sector. We will first survey the core foundations, principles, and readings of the field of public administration and public management. Students will then acquire and develop their own public manager’s toolbox which includes an introduction to goal setting and accountability, financial stewardship of public assets, policy system analysis, quantitative policy modeling techniques, and market failures. Students will also engage with International public administration/management readings and examples. Class discussion, case studies, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform students’ learning experiences. (INTD 0120 and PSCI 0104)

Numbers & Narratives: Human Stories in Business Data
In this course we combine the rigor of business analytics with the depth of the liberal arts, unveiling the human tapestry behind the data. We will breathe life into numbers through storytelling, crafting compelling narratives from financial reports, using ethical frameworks to evaluate operational efficiencies, and weaving historical and cultural insights into marketing campaigns. Students will learn how to translate complex data into impactful narratives, how to uncover biases and ethical dilemmas embedded in data, how to infuse empathy and understanding into analytical models and how to bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative worlds, speaking the language of both data and humanity. No coding or past experience required but you will need access to Microsoft Excel.

A Liberal Arts Introduction to Marketing and Brand Strategy
Brands surround us: Middlebury, Google, Coke. Even you are a brand. But what is a brand? How do consumers make brand choices? And what defines the market of competing brands? In this course we will explore the fundamentals of marketing strategy and branded communications through the lens of a liberal arts education spanning psychology, geography, economics, neuroscience and art history. We will discuss a range of brand cases along with a selective reading list including the gruesome story of Vermont railway worker Phineas Gage, Daniel Kahneman’s classic Thinking Fast & Slow, and cartoonist Scott McCloud’s guide to making comics.

Tom Palmer graduated from Middlebury in 1985 (as did his wife Heather Henderson Palmer) with a double major in Economics and Geography and a concentration in Modern Art History. That blend of disciplines has been instrumental in his business success, and it is the inspiration for this course proposal. He thanks his friend and Middlebury advisor, Bob Churchill, for inspiring him to learn for the love of learning and to teach for the love of teaching. As they say in advertising, Bob Churchill was the “pivot” in the story of his Middlebury experience./

Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation: The Backbone of Global Commerce
In this course, students will learn about the basics of supply chain, including activities such as planning, sourcing & procurement, manufacturing, transportation & freight, reverse logistics and supporting technologies. We will explore and go deeper into industries or aspects that students find a connection to (ex: “the supply chain of sports” or “the sustainable supply chain” or “GenAI-powered autonomous supply chains”). We will hear from guest speakers from companies such as Accenture, Nike, Patagonia and Amazon, etc. and discuss career opportunities in supply chain, and related areas (finance, marketing, operations, consulting, etc.). Weather and time-permitting, we will look to have a field trip to a warehouse or distribution center (TBD). The class will conclude with a project that asks the students to fuse what they’ve learned with an innovative new idea. (Open to Juniors and Seniors only.)

John Atherton graduated from Middlebury College in 1993 with a major in geography, and a minor in studio art. After coaching athletics at the college level, and teaching at a boarding school, he found his way into the world of global supply chain, and has been a practitioner for over 20 years. John has worked for a major global container shipping line, grew a tech start-up from nothing to something, and is now with the biggest consulting firm on the planet. In 2018, John was inducted into the Middlebury College Athletic Hall of Fame (Soccer, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse and Football)./

Marketing: Formulation, Methods, and Research
Marketing is both a qualitative and a quantitative discipline. It is one of the rare business fields that actively draws upon and integrates the creative and analytical components of the liberal arts tradition. In this course students will be exposed to a broad overview of marketing principles, focusing on the application of marketing theory to for-profit, not-for-profit, and the public sectors. Cause marketing and social marketing techniques will also be discussed to determine their utility in combating social ills and promoting favorable public health behaviors and outcomes. As the implementation of marketing programs is undergoing a massive transformation from conventional to digital media, students will be exposed to digital designing and marketing, which are driven by a sound understanding of consumer segmentation, brand positioning, distinct product benefits, and relevant in-market executions. (INTD 0120) Introductory statistics course recommended. 3 hrs. lect.

Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations
In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis. Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.

Numbers & Narratives: Human Stories in Business Data
In this course we combine the rigor of business analytics with the depth of the liberal arts, unveiling the human tapestry behind the data. We will breathe life into numbers through storytelling, crafting compelling narratives from financial reports, using ethical frameworks to evaluate operational efficiencies, and weaving historical and cultural insights into marketing campaigns. Students will learn how to translate complex data into impactful narratives, how to uncover biases and ethical dilemmas embedded in data, how to infuse empathy and understanding into analytical models and how to bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative worlds, speaking the language of both data and humanity. No coding or past experience required but you will need access to Microsoft Excel.

A Liberal Arts Introduction to Marketing and Brand Strategy
Brands surround us: Middlebury, Google, Coke. Even you are a brand. But what is a brand? How do consumers make brand choices? And what defines the market of competing brands? In this course we will explore the fundamentals of marketing strategy and branded communications through the lens of a liberal arts education spanning psychology, geography, economics, neuroscience and art history. We will discuss a range of brand cases along with a selective reading list including the gruesome story of Vermont railway worker Phineas Gage, Daniel Kahneman’s classic Thinking Fast & Slow, and cartoonist Scott McCloud’s guide to making comics.

Tom Palmer graduated from Middlebury in 1985 (as did his wife Heather Henderson Palmer) with a double major in Economics and Geography and a concentration in Modern Art History. That blend of disciplines has been instrumental in his business success, and it is the inspiration for this course proposal. He thanks his friend and Middlebury advisor, Bob Churchill, for inspiring him to learn for the love of learning and to teach for the love of teaching. As they say in advertising, Bob Churchill was the “pivot” in the story of his Middlebury experience./

Business Ethics
Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist. Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations. Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large. 3 hrs. lect./dsc

Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations
In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis. Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.

Public Management: Creating Public Value
In this course, we will learn how a public administrator/manager is qualitatively different from a manager in the private sector and the nonprofit sector. We will first survey the core foundations, principles, and readings of the field of public administration and public management. Students will then acquire and develop their own public manager’s toolbox which includes an introduction to goal setting and accountability, financial stewardship of public assets, policy system analysis, quantitative policy modeling techniques, and market failures. Students will also engage with International public administration/management readings and examples. Class discussion, case studies, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform students’ learning experiences. (INTD 0120 and PSCI 0104)

Numbers & Narratives: Human Stories in Business Data
In this course we combine the rigor of business analytics with the depth of the liberal arts, unveiling the human tapestry behind the data. We will breathe life into numbers through storytelling, crafting compelling narratives from financial reports, using ethical frameworks to evaluate operational efficiencies, and weaving historical and cultural insights into marketing campaigns. Students will learn how to translate complex data into impactful narratives, how to uncover biases and ethical dilemmas embedded in data, how to infuse empathy and understanding into analytical models and how to bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative worlds, speaking the language of both data and humanity. No coding or past experience required but you will need access to Microsoft Excel.

Leadership
What is leadership, and what does good leadership require? In this course we will investigate these important questions, focusing on today’s world context. Examples from politics, business, and community organization around the world will guide our inquiry, help us evaluate the quality of leadership affecting us and others, and enable us to assess our own leadership potential. To achieve these course goals, we will analyze real-world examples of good and poor leadership from around the world, compare across leadership cases, and assess leadership examples against theories of leadership in business, political science, history, and psychology. Class discussions, in-class simulations, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform our learning experience while reflection papers, individual research projects, individual oral presentations, and class participation will help gauge student learning.

From Shakespeare to Wall Street: Management and the Liberal Arts
In this course, students will explore how a Liberal Arts education (e.g., critical thinking, ethical behavior, and society building) can serve to humanize business. We will draw on various business case studies, videos, academic readings, and leverage wisdom from three Shakespearean works, Hamlet, King Lear, and The Merchant of Venice. We will then apply our newfound lessons to various business contexts (as Wall Street is a metaphor for business writ large) with the hopes of promoting human ethical conduct, corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability, and human equality.
(Grove Nichols can be contacted at ggnichols2@gmail.com)

Grosvenor (Grove) Nichols graduated from Middlebury in 1971. He majored in English, played varsity hockey and tennis, and was a fraternity social chairman. He went on to get an MBA from Stanford and has had a career in banking and consulting, including starting a bank in Sacramento, California, and serving as its CEO for ten years. Grove is currently a ski instructor and tennis pro at Stratton Mountain./

Business Ethics
Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist. Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations. Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large. 3 hrs. lect./dsc

Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations
In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis. Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.

Public Management: Creating Public Value
In this course, we will learn how a public administrator/manager is qualitatively different from a manager in the private sector and the nonprofit sector. We will first survey the core foundations, principles, and readings of the field of public administration and public management. Students will then acquire and develop their own public manager’s toolbox which includes an introduction to goal setting and accountability, financial stewardship of public assets, policy system analysis, quantitative policy modeling techniques, and market failures. Students will also engage with International public administration/management readings and examples. Class discussion, case studies, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform students’ learning experiences. (INTD 0120 and PSCI 0104)

Healthcare in the U.S.
At a time when achieving consensus on anything is close to impossible, nearly everyone agrees that our current health care system is broken. In this course we will explore the impediments to reforming health care in the United States, which by a variety of measures wastes approximately 25% of the country’s 3.8 trillion dollars spent annually. The goal in this course is not to argue a certain perspective. Rather, through readings and discussion of original sources, we will explore the complexities of our health care system, evaluate its attributes and failings, compare it with other systems around the world, and wrestle with questions posed by our current trajectory. We will explore how powerful interests—Big Pharma, insurance companies, hospital lobbyists, and physician guilds-- array to maintain the status quo despite clear evidence of alternative paths that would serve the greater good.

Capitalism & Its Criticisms
In this course we will explore the concept of capitalism and how it carries variegated meanings, which spans a wide range of societies and differing relationships between economic, political, and civic institutions within them. Students will have the opportunity to examine various forms and perspectives of capitalism which include contraband capitalism, racial capitalism, gendered capitalism, and scientific capitalism. We will also track how conceptions of capitalism have changed over time and globally. Primary and secondary works from the field of history, law, economics, philosophy, religion, and sociology will be incorporated to carry out the goal of the course which is to provide tools and perspectives that help students engage thoughtfully in these debates and to extend them into application in their own roles as engaged citizen, corporate, nonprofit, public, and entrepreneurial leaders.

Leadership
What is leadership, and what does good leadership require? In this course we will investigate these important questions, focusing on today’s world context. Examples from politics, business, and community organization around the world will guide our inquiry, help us evaluate the quality of leadership affecting us and others, and enable us to assess our own leadership potential. To achieve these course goals, we will analyze real-world examples of good and poor leadership from around the world, compare across leadership cases, and assess leadership examples against theories of leadership in business, political science, history, and psychology. Class discussions, in-class simulations, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform our learning experience while reflection papers, individual research projects, individual oral presentations, and class participation will help gauge student learning.

Business Ethics
Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist. Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations. Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large. 3 hrs. lect./dsc

Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations
In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis. Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.

Sustainable Finance
In this course we will posit the rationale for Sustainable Finance, which aims to facilitate business propositions and accelerate capital allocation to initiatives that benefit society, the environment, employees, customers, and investors alike. The starting point will be the traditional building blocks of finance. From these foundations, we will assess the impact of Sustainable Finance decisions on different societal crisis points (climate change, health pandemic, social inequality and injustice, financial crisis, etc.) The course will question what the individual can do, in the face of the sustainability crisis, through innovative (finance-driven) initiative. The course offering will be deeply anchored around project based learning principles, exploring innovative finance and sustainable framework solutions away from the singular focus of short-term financial profit maximization. (ECON 0265, INTD 0120, INTD 0217, or by instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect., 3 hrs. lab.

Numbers & Narratives: Human Stories in Business Data
In this course we combine the rigor of business analytics with the depth of the liberal arts, unveiling the human tapestry behind the data. We will breathe life into numbers through storytelling, crafting compelling narratives from financial reports, using ethical frameworks to evaluate operational efficiencies, and weaving historical and cultural insights into marketing campaigns. Students will learn how to translate complex data into impactful narratives, how to uncover biases and ethical dilemmas embedded in data, how to infuse empathy and understanding into analytical models and how to bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative worlds, speaking the language of both data and humanity. No coding or past experience required but you will need access to Microsoft Excel.

Healthcare in the U.S.
At a time when achieving consensus on anything is close to impossible, nearly everyone agrees that our current health care system is broken. In this course we will explore the impediments to reforming health care in the United States, which by a variety of measures wastes approximately 25% of the country’s 3.8 trillion dollars spent annually. The goal in this course is not to argue a certain perspective. Rather, through readings and discussion of original sources, we will explore the complexities of our health care system, evaluate its attributes and failings, compare it with other systems around the world, and wrestle with questions posed by our current trajectory. We will explore how powerful interests—Big Pharma, insurance companies, hospital lobbyists, and physician guilds-- array to maintain the status quo despite clear evidence of alternative paths that would serve the greater good.

Capitalism & Its Criticisms
In this course we will explore the concept of capitalism and how it carries variegated meanings, which spans a wide range of societies and differing relationships between economic, political, and civic institutions within them. Students will have the opportunity to examine various forms and perspectives of capitalism which include contraband capitalism, racial capitalism, gendered capitalism, and scientific capitalism. We will also track how conceptions of capitalism have changed over time and globally. Primary and secondary works from the field of history, law, economics, philosophy, religion, and sociology will be incorporated to carry out the goal of the course which is to provide tools and perspectives that help students engage thoughtfully in these debates and to extend them into application in their own roles as engaged citizen, corporate, nonprofit, public, and entrepreneurial leaders.

Finance, Regulation, and Policy
With recent financial scandals and crises, an important question is whether the finance industry should be regulated and should undergo further policy reforms. Many scholars and policy experts contend that the current system is simply not designed to make policy choices on behalf of the public. In this course we will explore current financial innovations (e.g., mutual funds, hedge funds, securitizations, cryptocurrencies, just to name a few) and potential policy options in order to protect “Main Street” from “Wall Street”. Additionally, we will explore the manner in which modern finance has grown out of powerful theories, both mathematical and psychological. 3 hrs. lect.

Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations
In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis. Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.

Public Management: Creating Public Value
In this course, we will learn how a public administrator/manager is qualitatively different from a manager in the private sector and the nonprofit sector. We will first survey the core foundations, principles, and readings of the field of public administration and public management. Students will then acquire and develop their own public manager’s toolbox which includes an introduction to goal setting and accountability, financial stewardship of public assets, policy system analysis, quantitative policy modeling techniques, and market failures. Students will also engage with International public administration/management readings and examples. Class discussion, case studies, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform students’ learning experiences. (INTD 0120 and PSCI 0104)

Healthcare in the U.S.
At a time when achieving consensus on anything is close to impossible, nearly everyone agrees that our current health care system is broken. In this course we will explore the impediments to reforming health care in the United States, which by a variety of measures wastes approximately 25% of the country’s 3.8 trillion dollars spent annually. The goal in this course is not to argue a certain perspective. Rather, through readings and discussion of original sources, we will explore the complexities of our health care system, evaluate its attributes and failings, compare it with other systems around the world, and wrestle with questions posed by our current trajectory. We will explore how powerful interests—Big Pharma, insurance companies, hospital lobbyists, and physician guilds-- array to maintain the status quo despite clear evidence of alternative paths that would serve the greater good.

Capitalism & Its Criticisms
In this course we will explore the concept of capitalism and how it carries variegated meanings, which spans a wide range of societies and differing relationships between economic, political, and civic institutions within them. Students will have the opportunity to examine various forms and perspectives of capitalism which include contraband capitalism, racial capitalism, gendered capitalism, and scientific capitalism. We will also track how conceptions of capitalism have changed over time and globally. Primary and secondary works from the field of history, law, economics, philosophy, religion, and sociology will be incorporated to carry out the goal of the course which is to provide tools and perspectives that help students engage thoughtfully in these debates and to extend them into application in their own roles as engaged citizen, corporate, nonprofit, public, and entrepreneurial leaders.

Leadership
What is leadership, and what does good leadership require? In this course we will investigate these important questions, focusing on today’s world context. Examples from politics, business, and community organization around the world will guide our inquiry, help us evaluate the quality of leadership affecting us and others, and enable us to assess our own leadership potential. To achieve these course goals, we will analyze real-world examples of good and poor leadership from around the world, compare across leadership cases, and assess leadership examples against theories of leadership in business, political science, history, and psychology. Class discussions, in-class simulations, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform our learning experience while reflection papers, individual research projects, individual oral presentations, and class participation will help gauge student learning.