Do you play an instrument of any sort? Do you sing? Do you just want to learn more about music? Well come learn about the fundamentals of music such as melody, harmony, and rhythm so that you can begin creating your own music! We'll be discussing key signatures, improv, recording basics, and the music industry. Create, create, create!

Pop music, broadly defined, is more than just your bubblegum chart-toppers (though those can be fantastic too!) - genres like hip-hop, EDM, rock, and country all fall under this category. With a focus on the contributions of people of color, women, and LGBT folks, we will explore North American pop music of the 21st century through the lenses of history, culture, and music theory. What is it about pop that makes it so culturally powerful and musically compelling? In this course, you will learn about the basic conventions of structure and production in pop music and create your own song using a browser-based platform called Hookpad - no experience necessary!


Prerequisites
Nothing besides a love of music and an open mind. Have a favorite song in mind when you come.

Come explore the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. Together, we will delve in to the lore and history of Westeros and Essos and point out key differences between the books and TV series. From there we will build up towards theories of the future events in Game of Thrones and speculate on possible outcomes for the characters. Through these discussions, we hope you will be able to learn more about the role of the hero in contemporary literature and television, the use of perception in series with multiple story-lines, and the function of moral ambiguity in shaping character development.


Prerequisites
Familiarity with Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire

Have you ever looked at a great piece of art – a painting, a cartoon, even a building or a piece of clothing – and thought “Wow, how did they do that? Wouldn’t it be cool if I could do that too?”

In this class, we will explore the foundation of all art – seeing the world around us as a collections of shapes, lines, light, and shadow – and we will learn to use those skills to sketch both what we see and what we imagine. This class is all about drawing! We will cover a number of techniques ranging from basic to advanced. We will play with different methods and styles of drawing, from quick sketches to polished cartoons.

All skill levels, from beginners to advanced artists, are welcome. All drawing will be done using pencils on paper. Materials will be provided, although students are welcome to bring their own pencils (graphite only!) and sketchbooks if they wish.

Please note that this class is a prerequisite for A1651 - Seeing the World in Technicolor: Introduction to Color Theory.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, 500 of those words come from color. In this course, kindergarten meets college as we explore the worlds of primary, secondary, and tertiary color. We will cover such topics as complementary colors, color schemes, the complex interaction of light and color, and the meaning of technical terms such as “hue” and “saturation.” We will also explore the psychology of color in art, particularly the way colors affect the mood and tone of artwork. Finally, we will explore the ways color is used in character creation, using everything from comic book heroes to Disney films as practical examples. One thing is for certain: you will never again see the world in black and white!

You must be taking Through An Artist's Eyes: Drawing Your World to enroll in this class.


Prerequisites
Taking Through An Artist's Eyes: Drawing Your World

How can music vary so widely, but be so universally enjoyed? What might Beethoven and the Beatles have in common? And how is it that any music sounds so great in the first place? In this course we’ll discuss the elements of (Western) tonal harmony, why the twelve-tone scale works so well, and the science of harmony and resonance. We’ll also talk about the psychological, gripping effects of music, and the (surprising) interrelation of musical paradigms across centuries


Prerequisites
An interest in music, and willingness to learn! No formal musical training required, though there may be singing involved. Ability to read music will help, but is not required.

Get up out of your seat and dance! This is a crash course on ballroom dancing (the stuff you see on Dancing With the Stars and Fred Astaire movies). Among the dances we'll be covering are the waltz, an elegant and romantic dance, and the cha-cha, it's fun and flirtatious counterpart.
No prior dance experience required, just be ready to move your feet!

Whether you're just entering middle school or about to graduate high school, this is a course you WON'T want to miss. It will consist of a lecture and a rock-smashing demo. The lecture will cover the science of asteroids and why they make the top of NASA's list for next exploration projects. We will also cover previous missions to asteroids and why the next mission must be carried out by humans and not robots. At the end of the lecture, we will give a demonstration of the rock smasher that our team has designed to collect rock samples from an asteroid.

Science fiction is filled with futuristic technology including microscopic machines that enter the human body and perform tasks. Well, science fiction NO MORE!!! We will be discussing the technology behind current "nano" machines, built at scales where ~10,000 machines can fit within the diameter of a human hair. The end of the class is a discussion into future perspectives of these nanomachines.


Prerequisites
Biology and Chemistry

Do you want to learn what makes rockets so explosive and even take one home for yourself? In just one class, members of the Yale Undergraduate Aerospace Association (YUAA) will teach you the basics of rocket science. At the end of the class you will get to design, build, and launch your own water bottle rocket!

To learn more about rocketry at Yale visit YUAA's website: yaleaerospace.com

ATTENTION TRUE BELIEVERS! This course will focus on comic books and how they use visual and literary tools to tell fictionalized stories of issues in the real world. It will also lead into a light comic-making session where students will use some of the techniques they learned and personal narratives to write a short comic story. (NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY) The course should end with students having a better idea of how they can share their stories and the stories of others to the world in order to expose new perspectives of the world in creative ways.

This class was created to allow students to have the most basic tools needed for a trip to France: very basic conversational French, a brief introduction to French culture and a short introduction to Paris.
About half of the class will be conversational games, the other half will be an interactive lecture including movie clips, songs, photo slideshows and a short game.

We'll be reading a short novel written in 1998 called The Hours by Michael Cunningham. We'll be analyzing it in terms of authorial biography—i.e., how the personal details of the author's life gave rise to the unusual structure of the book—and in terms of craft. We will look also at the larger thematic issues that arise in the book and attempt to reconcile those issues with the major historical and intellectual landmarks of the 20th century.

This class was created to allow students to have the most basic tools needed for a trip to France: very basic conversational French, a brief introduction to French culture and a short introduction to Paris.
About half of the class will be conversational games, the other half will be an interactive lecture including movie clips, songs, photo slideshows and a short game.

We will be discussing Cummings' poem "One's not half two, it's two are halves of one." In doing so, we will examine how Cummings makes use of (and subverts) traditional poetic form, as well as his distinct and innovative approach to poetry.

Cezannism, Neo-Primitivism, Rayonism, Expressionism, Suprematism, Constructivism...! These are just a few of the strange and wonderful art movements that swept through Russia in the early 20th century. Around 1890, the country's leading artists left Realism in the dust to tackle abstraction, non-objectivity, and non-mimetic representation instead — yet forty years later, Socialist Realism reared its head, and avant-garde art disappeared, ceding to kitschy propaganda paintings. How did this happen? Take this class to find out!


Prerequisites
None!

It is a serious tragedy that the philosophy of Science is kept concealed from many of us during our formative education. This class will investigate the question of whether anything pursued by a rational process can ever be proven true, scary stuff. We will discuss how science was originated and how it works while meandering into some fundamentals of formal logic, computability theory (computers and such) and skepticism and how they all tie into this silly notion of "critical thinking". This is a philosophy class, which means you are more than welcome to question, disturb, decry, and deny!


Prerequisites
Curiosity

This course seeks to introduce students to the many countries and cultures of the Caribbean. We will begin by discussing the unique yet connected histories of several Caribbean countries (focusing on Jamaica, Trinidad, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic); then we will look at maps, photographs, art, and other visual media; and we will end by listening to Caribbean music from artists such as Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, and eating food from the region. By the end of the session, students will develop a contextual understanding of the Caribbean Islands in terms of both time and place.

If you have food allergies, please email yalesplash@gmail.com


Prerequisites
Please email yalesplash@gmail.com if you have food allergies.

An introduction to the gods, goddesses, monsters and giants worshipped by the vikings -- including Thor, Odin, Loki and Tyr. No previous knowledge of mythology is required.

Myths from around the world -- including Mexico, China, Germany and Australia -- all feature the creatures we call dragons. But how did these creatures get to be so commonplace, and why are they so universal? Come and meet the diverse dragons of global legend, and learn the answers to this question and many more.

FEMINISM. You've probably heard it in a Beyoncé song or seen thrown about through social media, but what does it truly mean? We'll try to get to the heart of that and talk about feminism in the context of pop culture, music, and film. We'll discuss everything from artists and musicians like Madonna, Rihanna, and of course Beyonce, discuss movies and how they reinforce or defy gender roles, and talk critically about feminism is awesome, important, and relevant to all of our lives, men and women. In all the goal of this class is to get young minds to think more critically about what we perceive through media and the power it has to influence the way we think about sex and gender in society.

Alfred Hitchcock once said that puns are the highest form of literature. This course will explore a form of language suited for both the erudite and the street-smart, from the various classifications of puns to the evolution of wordplay throughout history. Learn the difference between badinage, riposte, and dad jokes. If you are seeking to elicit admiration and groans from your peers, or to simply ruin lives, this course is for you.


Prerequisites
A sense of humor and an appreciation for language.

Ever since an Ethiopian goatherd saw his flock jittering after tasting a strange fruit, coffee has captured our tastebuds and invigorated our imagination. Coffee today is a $100 billion dollar industry employing 25 million people from impoverished harvesters to hipster baristas. Throughout history, it has been an incredible driving force, and serves as a fascinating case study for global economics and cultural diffusion.

Learn about how coffee may have accelerated the enlightenment, propelled global trade, and shaped the world since antiquity! And learn how to make specialty brew for yourself!

Beans will be provided, as will mugs. Students entering with Starbucks venti mochaccinos will be politely asked to leave.

As science is evermore incorporated into nearly every facet of our society, conflicts arise at areas of overlap, largely driven by political strife and misunderstanding on all sides. This is an instructor-led discussion, focusing on areas where science and society meet and are often perceived to conflict. Topics may include religion, ancient and current public perception, epistemology, cultural and historical context, biotechnology, enviromentalism, politics, education, or formal/informal logic, depending largely on student interest.


Prerequisites
Willingness to speak and listen Capacity to handle cognitive dissonance

What makes America the most violent developed country in the world? What role is played by the ease of access to guns? Why have certain gun policy proposals gained the support of over 90% of Americans, but failed to pass in Congress?

This is a crash course that will touch on topics in public health, history, sociology, media studies, and political science -- and the opportunities and challenges that come with getting involved in a single-issue political campaign.

An introduction into the study of the origins of words. The class will discuss how words change in terms of their form and meaning, and more generally how languages change and influence one another.

In 1969, the death of 19 year old Alex Rackley threw New Haven into chaos. Several men from the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary Black Nationalist group, were charged with his murder. Claims of racism and conspiracy abounded, leaving New Haven stuck in a national controversy that culminated in mass demonstrations and a bombing at Ingalls Rink.

This course will examine how police officers, administrators, and Yale students worked with the Black Panthers to peacefully prevent rioters from “burning down Yale.” It will also review the role that the FBI’s then-secret “Counter-Intelligence Program” played in this bizarre episode. Finally, we will extract lessons about civil unrest from this era, and try to apply them to modern conflicts between protesters and policemen.

This class will provide a brief introduction to the history of the Holocaust, as well as an opportunity for students to discuss their thoughts and feelings about one of the darkest periods in human history.


Prerequisites
Students should be willing to discuss difficult topics with maturity. Basic knowledge of 20th century European history is encouraged but not required.

This class will provide a brief introduction to the history of the Holocaust, as well as an opportunity for students to discuss their thoughts and feelings about one of the darkest periods in human history.


Prerequisites
Students should be willing to discuss difficult topics with maturity. Basic knowledge of 20th century European history is encouraged but not required.

Is photography an art or a science? This class takes a snapshot of the history of photography and how its invention shaped scientific research. In addition, we will explore the nature of scientific research and apply what we learn about its history to how we can make it more approachable today. The course will start with a background lecture and end in a seminar format, with students encouraged to ask questions and learn from each other.

Learn how to make an interactive website and put it online to show the world.


Prerequisites
None

Quantum mechanics is the physics of small things at low energies. In this regime, our intuitive picture of the world breaks down significantly. I will offer explanations as to why this breakdown is no paradox, and describe in detail the postulates of quantum mechanics. We will then examine mathematically a simple two-state system using matrix methods. Finally, I will describe wave mechanics and the uncertainty principle, with a focus on wave-particle duality.


Prerequisites
Familiarity with the 2-D coordinate plane and familiarity with solving systems of linear equations (such as by elimination) is fairly important for the math in this course. Complex numbers, sines, and cosines will be discussed, but a perfect understanding of these topics is not necessary, even after lecture. This is a course for people who love thinking abstractly, and should be very interesting to anyone interested in math, physics, or philosophy. If you don't like it when a number is replaced by a letter, do not take this course. If you prefer it, TAKE THIS COURSE. This course does not move quickly and does not have many parts. That being said it is difficult-- after all anyone who "understands quantum mechanics" will tell you "no one understands quantum mechanics." The course will be as accessible as I can make it, and I hope many of you choose to.

Ever heard of graph theory? It's a branch of math that looks at how objects are related to each other by boiling them down to just a bunch of points and lines. Sound simple? Yet there's so much cool math going on beneath the surface! Join us to hear about how graphs are related to Facebook and ancient bridges, and maybe even prove a theorem or two!


Prerequisites
No prerequisites -- just excitement about cool math things!

How big is infinity? What is beyond infinity? How can you work with infinity?

We’ll be discussing different levels of infinitude, creating elegant proofs, and solving riddles with infinity to note some of the most interesting properties of infinitude.


Prerequisites
Basic Algebra

Unix is the underlying system of Linux and Mac OS. You might be more familiar with it as the terminal, or the black window where you can put in different commands and really mess up your computer, or have it do amazing things! We will go through some introductory commands to maneuver around files and folders, and then write a small script to automate something that might take a really long time to do manually.


Prerequisites
Should be familiar with using a computer.

Ever wonder where the sun came from and how it powers itself? Then this course is for you! This class will survey the life-cycle of stars- starting with captivating nebulae, trekking on into the mysterious power source of stars known as nuclear fusion, and finally exploring the end of stars, either exploding in supernovae, collapsing to dwarf stars, or forming black holes! Finally, we’ll discuss the many properties or our sun and how it sustains life on earth!

This class will be open to lots of discussion and participation, so please bring any knowledge, questions, or particular interests and we can talk about them!!

Plasmas can exhibit all types of fascinating non-linear behavior! From nuclear fusion to particle accelerators, from stars to the quark-gluon plasma that formed just after the Big Bang, understanding plasmas is crucial to our understanding of the universe. Over 99% of all ordinary matter in the observable universe (matter, which interact via the Standard Model) is in the plasma state!

Black holes are some of the most fascinating objects in the observable universe. At their boundaries, general relativity and quantum mechanics both become relevant, which leads to some interesting paradoxes!

This class will provide a basic overview of the structure and anatomy of the brain, and some medical conditions that can arise from damage to it. We will also perform a dissection of a preserved sheep's brain. This class should be interesting to a general audience, and may be particularly useful to students interested in fields like neuroscience, neurology or neurosurgery.

This class will take a look at the way pharmacological treatments for mental illness have evolved over the course of the 20th century to today: Are the same drugs from the 1950s still useful for schizophrenia patients? What are the different types of antidepressants, and how do they work? We'll learn about the science community's debate over the effectiveness of these drugs and touch on contemporary issues like medication adherence, misprescription, and overprescription.


Prerequisites
Some familiarity with biology.

Do you drink coffee? How about tea? Have you ever taken a Tylenol for a headache? Then you (yes, you) have taken drugs. Drugs are such a big part of our society, but how do they actually work? We'll discuss the basic biology of neurotransmitters and receptors in the brain, and then we'll talk about how different kinds of drugs (focusing on alcohol and caffeine) can affect both your brain and your body.


Prerequisites
Some basic knowledge of biology may be helpful, but isn't required.

How can salt be removed from sea water? Why do you get pruned fingers after long baths? What happens when you drop salt on a slug? How does kidney dialysis work? This class will explore the process of osmosis and how it relates to our everyday life.

This class will give you a whole new perspective on your own memory. Sure, you can memorize facts for exams and remember your friend's birthday with ease, but how does it work? What else do we use memory for? Does amnesia, like in the movie "50 First Dates," actually happen? And are false memories even possible? Find out this summer! We'll answer all these questions, talk a bit about your brain (no prior knowledge needed), and do some fun demonstrations.

Fish of all types have adapted themselves to the cold, dark, inhospitable waters of the deep ocean -- but how? Meet some of the strangest creatures of the abyss and learn how they survive in one of the unlikeliest places on the planet.

Some animals we now know well -- including the giant squid, the panda, and the mountain gorilla -- used to be considered nothing more than legend. But how do stories about these creatures stack up against reality? Are there more large animals out there to be found, and what can we learn about the folklore surrounding them? This class explores the intersection between science and fable -- and in particular, the creatures which cross that boundary.

A look into the future of energy science, the looming threat of global climate change, and what we can do to help. This class will explore the issue of energy research in the engineering, political, and economic spheres.

Thought you knew everything about our fine feathered friends? Think again! Thought penguins were cool birds? Wrong! They actually keep a higher basal body temperature than you. Thought Happy Feet was 100% fiction? Penguins don't sound very musically attuned to our ears, but their calls are complex enough for two mates to find each other in a colony of thousands. Join us for a 50 minute presentation on everyone's favorite avian, where you'll learn everything about penguins and then some, from their ecology and evolutionary biology to penguin prostitution, wandering penguin syndrome, and ancient penguins penguin-dinosaurs. So what are you waiting for? Penguins await!

Biotechnology is rapidly growing as a set of tools to meet a variety of human needs through the use and manipulation of biological systems, chemistry, and processes. With an ever-growing population and concern over environmental health, genetic engineering is one tool now widely used in agriculture and research to improve crops, reduce resource use, study biological systems, and meet human needs. However, with this new technology come new concerns that lead people to question the efficacy of this technology to meet our needs safely and responsibly.

This is a four week course condensed and summarized in one class. The class will begin with brief introductions to complex topics in biology required to understand genetic engineering of plant systems. The next part will discuss methods of genetic engineering (including applications and limitations), while the final part will be a walkthrough of controversies surrounding the technology (topics may include food security, safety, efficacy, health effects, ethics, and ecology).


Prerequisites
MUST have taken biology already

Dinosaurs are really cool. There are a lot of other prehistoric creatures that are also really cool, however, and people mix dinosaurs and non-dinosaurs up all the time. We've also made a lot of new discoveries about dinosaurs that haven't reached pop culture (or were completely ignored as in the case of Jurassic World). So if you're interested in finding out what is and isn't a dinosaur, well, I guess this is the class for you! Bring all and any dinosaur questions you might've had since you were 5 years old but your parents couldn't answer, as well as a willingness to accept the fact that T. rex probably had feathers. (You wouldn't believe the amount of literature--and public stubbornness--that attempts to disprove the idea of feathered dinosaurs.)


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of evolution, bones, and big numbers; I would recommend Googling 'phylogenetic tree' but I'll go over that in class anyway so no big deal.

Music is present all around us. This course will discuss how sound is created, how we perceive sound, and how it stimulates us. It also covers the question of whether music is unique to humans and takes time to introduce animal music.

A short course on numbers too big (and too small) to count, at least for counting on your fingers. What does a billion mean? What does a billionth mean? First, a quick review of the metric system and orders of magnitude, and then using these to approach problems with large and small numbers. Then a short introduction to Fermi questions. The last portion of the class will include mental math tricks, useful numbers, and applications to everyday life.


Prerequisites
This class is meant for people who are comfortable with small bits of mental math. A touch of physics may be useful though not necessary.

We will discuss many of the important experimental techniques used today to study the cell, macromolecules such as DNA and protein, and disease at the molecular level. Hands on experiments will be performed.

Ever wondered how we came to have living rocks in our mouth? Come embark on a 500 million year journey through dental history, from the very earliest calcified structures of Conodonts, to the truck-crushing jaws of Dunkleosteus, to the toothed birds of prehistory, all the way to your modern chompers. We'll explore how teeth have changed since their first appearance half a billion years ago, and in many respects, how they haven't. We'll see how the adaptability of collagen-laden hydroxiapatite has both driven evolution, and been molded to shocking extremes by the needs of species over the course of time. Come see how even the best prosthodontists (fake teeth specialists) can't compete with a two hundred million year old product, and much, much more!

Estimate show that over 30% of adults in the US are obese and over 60% are overweight. Unfortunately, these figures are only rising. What is it about the US that is so "unhealthy"? More importantly, what can we do about it? This course will provide a brief introduction to some of the major problems which plague in the American food system and discuss ways we can help rescue our nation's food landscape.


Prerequisites
Must be a human and eat food.

This course goes over some of the techniques and practices that help performers of all kinds focus and do better under pressure.

What does an editor do? Why does a writer need an editor? In this class, we'll learn the basics of editing: how to clean up a sentence, how to reshape a piece, how to preserve the author's voice. This will be a collaborative effort, so students should be prepared to participate and make their own suggestions!

Are you petrified of public speaking? Does the thought of large groups make you queasy? Have you contemplating skipping town on the days when you have oral presentations? If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions - this class is for you!

My class will provide you with lots of fun and informative ways to be a successful public speaker. We will talk delivery, content and more as we delve into the dying art of oratory.

In addition to learning the tricks of the trade we will be having a small, friendly, competition for everyone willing to participate that will involve some cool prizes. Keep in mind that participation in the competition is completely voluntary so those of you who are still a little shy are more than welcome to join the fun!

As members of the Senate Budget Committee, we will take a deep-dive into the US federal budget to understand where money comes from, where it is spent, and how it is spent (the budgeting process). Learn why the US usually runs budget deficits, and why the budget can't actually fix the problem. As a committee, we'll see if we can come up with a budget to solve some of the problems that Washington can't seem to.


Prerequisites
Basic American government or history. An understanding of the separation of powers and federalism.

Never in history have orca whales (aka killer whales) had more media attention than they do today! Have you noticed the increased attention and want to know what all the fuss is about? Maybe you've seen the movie 'Blackfish' and want to know more! Come learn about these magnificent mammals and why they belong in the wild from a teacher who has loved and learned about orca whales her entire life!

What's the difference between Earl Grey and Lady Grey? Why would anyone drink something called Gunpowder? And what on earth is an Oolong? Come learn all about the types, history, and cultural significance of tea. Tea-tasting included, of course! :)