UNST 300-0001: Navigating the Attention Economy 

TT 9:35 - 10:50 | DJH G004 | Jared Jay Featherstone 

The term attention economy depicts human attention as a limited resource in a world of ever-increasing connectivity and information overload. The class will take a critical look at the modern cultural situation of individual consumer attention being seen as a commodity that corporations and influencers are competing for. The course will examine both ends of this phenomenon, the efforts of marketing and programmers attempting to control the attention of consumers, as well as the struggle of consumers to maintain agency and even clarity of thought under these conditions

UNST 300-0002: Science, Pseudoscience, and Logical Fallacies

MW 9:35 - 10:50 | DJH 1006 | Jennifer M Mangan 

The world is changing at a rapid pace, driven by science and technology. Countless expressions of cutting-edge science and high technology pervade our world, and they profoundly affect the social, economic, and cultural outlooks of societies and individuals. In this course, we will examine the politics of science, public perceptions of science, scientific literacy, and the co-evolution of scientific expertise and democracy. What does it mean to be objective? Who can we rely upon as trusted authorities? How will science address, and potentially alleviate, the wicked problems plaguing our world? What is the impact of society on science? Topics will include past and present controversies within the history of modern science and technology (e.g. the geocentric universe, evolution, climate change, artificial superintelligence) as well as studies of what are generally considered pseudosciences (e.g. astrology, paranormal activity, cryptozoology, UFOs). 

Cross-listed with HON 300-0009 

UNST 300-0003: The Unfinished Journey of People of Color

TT 2:20 - 3:35 | Online | Howard M Gelfand 

This course is an interdisciplinary in-depth study of People of Color in Contemporary America, with a focus on the antecedents and factors that have led to our current circumstances. We will examine the experiences of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Alaskans, Native Hawaiians, and people of other identities through the lenses of art, cultural revival, culture, economics, ethnicity, historic preservation, memory, place, politics, and sexuality, particularly as pertains to social and cultural activism. We will utilize a broad variety of sources and tools, and we will work together to figure out paths forward toward making life in this country more equitable, understanding, inquisitive, and celebratory.

Cross-listed with HON 300-0011 & IDLS 385-0001

UNST 300-0004: Science, Culture and Science Fiction

MW 9:35 - 10:50 | Burr 0349 | Matthew Alexander Chamberlin

This course will use an interdisciplinary, module-based approach to examine imagined worlds of science fiction and the cultures that evolved on them, introducing students to scientific and social-scientific theoretical frameworks and methods of analysis.  We will investigate a number of planets and their physical parameters, including but not limited to the type of stars they orbit, the climates of the planet, their locations in space, and how they are similar to or different from Earth, and draw on a range of perspectives in the humanities and social sciences to make sense of the various human and alien species that populate these imagined worlds, including their relationship to and adaptation within particular environments. Using the fictional constructions of sentient beings and their behavior and interaction as metaphors for crucial issues in our own present-day human society, we will address questions of cultural evolution, personhood, knowledge, race and gender, power, conflict, and the nature of civilization. 

Cross-listed with HON 300-0006 

UNST 300-0005: Design Thinking Across Disciplines and Professions

Tuesday 3:55 - 6:25 | Burr 0349 | Connie M Frigo

This seminar engages students in human-centered design to tackle contemporary, real-world challenges across disciplines and professions. Students practice problem framing, evidence gathering, ideation, prototyping, and evaluation while developing advanced information literacy, multi-modal communication, and ethical reasoning. Through iterative sprints, students learn to treat missteps as informative iterations that refine understanding and solutions. The course culminates in a cross-disciplinary project addressing a selected contemporary problem with evidence-based justification, tested prototypes, and public-facing communication. 

Cross-listed with HON 300-0001 

UNST 300-0006: The Monument in the US

TT 11:10 - 12:25 | Duke 1041 | John W Ott 

This seminar centers on the historical development of and recent debates concerning monuments and public art in the United States. The course will examine these objects as fundamental and contested sites both of public memory, and of civic, regional, and national identities. Later meetings will address contemporary challenges to monuments’ underlying ideological frameworks, with special attention to so-called “counter-monuments” that question or overturn the very possibility either of defining community and nation, or of commemorating the past. Students will individually research regional monuments and, as a culmination of the course, propose and justify changes to their chosen artworks in teams.

UNST 300-0007: Human-Subject Experimentation

MW 1:50 - 3:05 | PH/CH 2116 | Mark E Mattson

Although amazing knowledge can be gained from human-subject experimentation, why is it so highly regulated? The history behind it is complex. For instance, following World War II the United States offered amnesty to enemy medical personnel who gained unique data through brutal human-subject experiments in exchange for their help to interpret the information. Was it right to reconcile the otherwise unobtainable information gained with the horrifying suffering of the victims? How is science used nowadays to justify “destructive research on human embryos?”1 Through the use of historical role-playing, debate, and project development, students will gain greater understanding of the intersection between ethics and human experimentation and how it may affect them in their career.

1 Douglas, T., & Savulescu, J. (2009). Destroying unwanted embryos in research. Talking Point on morality and human embryo research. EMBO Reports, 10(4), 307–312. http://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2009.54 

UNST 300-0008: Building with AI: A Human-Centered Approach

MWF 03:00 - 03:50 | EnGeo 2209 | Chandani Shrestha 

AI systems are increasingly interactive partners rather than passive tools. Unlike other Interaction Design (IxD) or Human-Centered Design (HCD) courses, this course focuses on challenges unique to AI systems, particularly miscalibrated trust, unclear reasoning, and shifting human control,  that don't arise with traditional, predictable interfaces.

This project-based course introduces students to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) challenges of designing these interactions, focusing on trust, agency, collaboration, and uncertainty. No prior programming, math, or technical coursework is required; students will use existing AI tools and APIs rather than build AI systems themselves. Human-AI interaction is a fairly new, fast-moving field, so some questions explored in this course are still open. Students will read current research alongside established HCI methods, and test ideas through their own projects.

UNST 300-0002: Science, Pseudoscience, and Logical Fallacies

MoWe 9:35AM - 10:50AM| DJH 1006 | Philip L Frana & Jennifer M Mangan

The world is changing at a rapid pace, driven by science and technology. Countless expressions of cutting-edge science and high technology pervade our world, and they profoundly affect the social, economic, and cultural outlooks of societies and individuals. In this course, we will examine the politics of science, public perceptions of science, scientific literacy, and the co-evolution of scientific expertise and democracy. What does it mean to be objective? Who can we rely upon as trusted authorities? How will science address, and potentially alleviate, the wicked problems plaguing our world? What is the impact of society on science? Topics will include past and present controversies within the history of modern science and technology (e.g. the geocentric universe, evolution, climate change, artificial superintelligence) as well as studies of what are generally considered pseudosciences (e.g. astrology, paranormal activity, cryptozoology, UFOs).

This class is crossed-listed with HON 300-0002.

UNST 300-0003:The Technology of Dystopia

Tues/Thurs 12:45-2:00 PM | DJH G009 | Michael Klein

How do stories of dystopian futures reflect and critique the technologies shaping our present? Using a science studies lens, this course explores the intersections of dystopian fiction, film, and television with real-world debates about surveillance, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and climate change. By analyzing classic and contemporary texts, we will consider how dystopian narratives warn, satirize, and reimagine the role of technology in society.

This class is cross-listed with HON 300-0003.

UNST 300-0004: Navigating the Attention Economy

Tues/Thurs 2:20-3:35 PM | Wilson Hall 1012 | Jared Featherstone

The term "attention economy" depicts human attention as a limited resource in a world of ever-increasing connectivity and information overload. The class will take a critical look at the modern cultural situation of individual consumer attention being seen as a commodity that corporations and influencers are competing for. The course will examine both ends of this phenomenon, the efforts of marketing and programmers attempting to control the attention of consumers, as well as the struggle of consumers to maintain agency and even clarity of thought under these conditions.

UNST 300-0005: Design Thinking Across Disciplines and Professions

TUES 3:55-6:25 PM | Burress Hall 349 | Connie Frigo

This seminar introduces students to design thinking as a flexible way to understand and solve real-world problems. Working in teams, students take on one pre-determined challenge, then discover a second one themselves, giving them experience both responding to problems and uncovering new opportunities. They experiment with brainstorming, testing concepts, building quick models, and learning from what works and what doesn’t. Students leave with practical skills in research, collaboration, communication, and innovative thinking that transfer to any major or career path.

This class is cross-listed with HON 300-0006

UNST 300-0006: Designing Experiences for Connection

Thurs 3:55-6:25 PM | Miller Hall 2140 | Connie Frigo

This course examines how people perceive, interpret, and remember live experiences, from concerts and sports to community gatherings and campus programs. Students learn practical methods for observing audiences, understanding engagement, and designing for connection. Working in teams, they will design, prototype, and test their own live or participatory experience. Students gain practical, transferable skills for designing engaging experiences they can immediately apply in future academic work, team settings, creative projects, community initiatives, and professional contexts.

UNST 300-0001: Science, Pseudoscience, and Logical Fallacies

MON/WED 1:50-3:05 PM| DJH G004 | Philip L Frana & Jennifer M Mangan

The world is changing at a rapid pace, driven by science and technology. Countless expressions of cutting-edge science and high technology pervade our world, and they profoundly affect the social, economic, and cultural outlooks of societies and individuals. In this course, we will examine the politics of science, public perceptions of science, scientific literacy, and the co-evolution of scientific expertise and democracy. What does it mean to be objective? Who can we rely upon as trusted authorities? How will science address, and potentially alleviate, the wicked problems plaguing our world? What is the impact of society on science? Topics will include past and present controversies within the history of modern science and technology (e.g. the geocentric universe, evolution, climate change, artificial superintelligence) as well as studies of what are generally considered pseudosciences (e.g. astrology, paranormal activity, cryptozoology, UFOs).

This class is cross-listed with HON 300-0002. 

UNST 300-0002: Science, Culture and Science Fiction

MON/WED 9:35-10:50 AM | DJH 1006 | Matthew Alexander Chamberlin & Jennifer M Mnagan

This course will use an interdisciplinary, module-based approach to examine imagined worlds of science fiction and the cultures that evolved on them, introducing students to scientific and social-scientific theoretical frameworks and methods of analysis. We will investigate a number of planets and their physical parameters, including but not limited to the type of stars they orbit, the climates of the planet, their locations in space, and how they are similar to or different from Earth, and draw on a range of perspectives in the humanities and social sciences to make sense of the various human and alien species that populate these imagined worlds, including their relationship to and adaptation within particular environments. Using the fictional constructions of sentient beings and their behavior and interaction as metaphors for crucial issues in our own present-day human society, we will address questions of cultural evolution, personhood, knowledge, race and gender, power, conflict, and the nature of civilization.

This class is cross-listed with HON 300-0006.

UNST 300-0003: Navigating the Attention Economy

TUES/THURS 9:35-10:50 AM | DJH G004 | Jared Featherstone & Philip Frana

The term "attention economy" depicts human attention as a limited resource in a world of ever-increasing connectivity and information overload. The class will take a critical look at the modern cultural situation of individual consumer attention being seen as a commodity that corporations and influencers are competing for. The course will examine both ends of this phenomenon, the efforts of marketing and programmers attempting to control the attention of consumers, as well as the struggle of consumers to maintain agency and even clarity of thought under these conditions.

UNST 300-0004: Urban America: Detroit 

TUES/THURS 2:20-3:35 PM| DJH G004 | Johnathan Walker

Urban America: Genesis and Necrosis of Detroit. The focus of this seminar will be to understand the city of Detroit, Michigan through spatial dynamism and cultural place-making in what became America's "Motor City". The goal of the course is to develop an inclusive perspective of the people and powers that shaped Detroit with emphasis on equity/inequity and the development and perpetuation of diverse and "un-diverse" landscapes. Students will develop a critical eye toward issues of gender, race, and power and understand its spatial manifestation.

UNST 300-0005: Imagining Just Futures with Genetic Engineering

TUES/THURS 2:20 - 3:35 PM | EnGeo 0303 | Christine L May

Genetic engineering is a rapidly developing biotechnology that has potential to alter the fundamental blueprint for life. Students will actively explore the topic through the interdisciplinary lenses of Science, Technology and Society.

This section meets with UNST 300-H005.

UNST 300-0006: Dystopian Fiction and Technology

MON/WED 9:35-10:50 AM | Burr 0349 | Philip L Frana

How do stories of dystopian futures reflect and critique the technologies shaping our present? Using a science studies lens, this course explores the intersections of dystopian fiction, film, and television with real-world debates about surveillance, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and climate change. By analyzing classic and contemporary texts, we will consider how dystopian narratives warn, satirize, and reimagine the role of technology in society.

This class is cross-listed with HON 300-0008.

UNST 300-0007: Human-Subject Experimentation

MON/WED 1:50-3:05 PM |PH/CH 2116 | Mark E Mattson

Although amazing knowledge can be gained from human-subject experimentation, why is it so highly regulated? The history behind it is complex. For instance, following World War II the United States offered amnesty to enemy medical personnel who gained unique data through brutal human-subject experiments in exchange for their help to interpret the information. Was it right to reconcile the otherwise unobtainable information gained with the horrifying suffering of the victims? How is science used nowadays to justify “destructive research on human embryos?”1 Through the use of historical role-playing, debate, and project development, students will gain greater understanding of the intersection between ethics and human experimentation and how it may affect them in their career.

1 Douglas, T., & Savulescu, J. (2009). Destroying unwanted embryos in research. Talking Point on morality and human embryo research. EMBO Reports, 10(4), 307–312. http://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2009.54 

UNST 300-0008: Archiving Global Immigration in Harrisonburg: Institutions and Communities 

MON/WED 1:50-3:05 PM | Gabb 0101 | Mary K Gayne 

This section introduces students to the history of migration into Harrisonburg from the post–Civil War era to the present. The course emphasizes archival and institutional sources that document immigrant and refugee communities, including Jewish merchants, Chinese entrepreneurs, and the diverse populations arriving after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Students will work with local archives, organizational records, and institutional partners to begin the important work of identifying, cataloging, and narrating archival sources that tell the story of global immigration in the Shenandoah Valley. Potential public-facing projects, such as a bus poster series linked by QR code to digital narratives, digital archive entries, or small exhibits, will highlight immigrant contributions while laying the foundation for future research and community collaborations. 

UNST 300-0009: Understanding Texts in Context

MON/WED/FRI 9:10-10:00 AM | Roop 0202 | Nicole Barnes

This course examines how communication shapes and reflects social reality through the concept of context. Focusing on the postwar 1950s through the countercultural rebellion of the 1960s, students will explore how media, activism, and identify influence public discourse.

This course satisfies Critical Thinking or Human Communication requirement.