Economics - we know you're thinking banks, finance, and the cut-throat world of Wall Street. But economics is, at its core, the study of human behavior. The laws of economics play an essential role in nearly every aspect of our lives. This course will examine social welfare policy through an economic lens as we seek to understand how policy can best positively impact our communities.

On June 17, 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof walked into the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and shot dead nine African-American men and women. In the days after the shooting, Roof’s ties to neo-Confederate groups reignited debates about the place of Confederate symbols in today’s society. This course will explore some of the core questions surrounding the meaning and memory of the Confederate flag. Why does the flag still have such a strong presence in the American South and elsewhere? What, if any, is the appropriate role for Confederate symbols in today’s society? What should be done with monuments and symbols that honor ideology no longer accepted today? Is it possible to separate the memory of Confederate soldiers from the cause for which they fought? We will seek to answer some of these questions by exploring the origins of the Confederate flag, its evolving meaning, and the controversy surrounding its current place in American culture.