Preliminary Research Exhibition

Short Description:
This exhibition presents the preliminary major research project ideas of OCAD University’s Inclusive Design 2019/2021 cohort. These projects explore a spectrum of themes, ranging from healthcare, to sensory experiences, to storytelling and services for cultural communities, to neurodiversity, and finally, to design practices and processes themselves.

Word Count: 28442

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India and South Asia: From Area Studies to Ethnic Studies
Course design by Rachel Heilman, Issaquah High School.
Developed with the support of Sunila Kale (Associate Professor of International Studies) and the South Asia Center (Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington), with funding from the U.S. Department of Education National Resource Centers Program.

Dear Colleague,

I hope you are able to implement some version of this course at your institution! I have it aligned to Washington State Social Studies Standards, but it is right in line with Common Core-driven expectations and should fit well with any state’s standards. This course also very much supports the new Washington Ethnic Studies Framework.

––Rachel Heilman, March 2022

Course Description

How can understanding a particular region both shape and enhance our understanding of ourselves and the world around us? As we gain knowledge, how do we both recognize and cross the political boundaries we see on maps? In this one-semester course we will use an interdisciplinary approach to examine India and wider South Asia as we work to conceptualize the ways people, power, geography, and the past shape the region. For the purposes of this course South Asia will include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In our role as global citizens we will also expand our inquiries to the web of connections between South Asia and our own individual and social identities.

Word Count: 13085

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With a focus on the creation of functional prototypes and practicing real magical crafts, this class combines theatrical illusion, game design, sleight of hand, machine learning, camouflage, and neuroscience to explore how ideas from ancient magic and modern stage illusion can inform cutting edge technology.

A Cabinet of Curiosities

Word Count: 20592

ISBN: 978-0-578-93133-3

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This seminar has three purposes. One, it inquires into the causes of military innovation by examining a number of the most outstanding historical cases. Two, it views military innovations through the lens of organization theory to develop generalizations about the innovation process within militaries. Three, it uses the empirical study of military innovations as a way to examine the strength and credibility of hypotheses that organization theorists have generated about innovation in non-military organizations.

This book examines the current state of systemic, institutional racism in the United States as compared to baseline data collected in 1969. Using recent findings in the fields of history, economics, education, political science, and public health, the work reveals how systemic racism in the US has and has not been addressed in the past five decades. The book is geared toward college undergraduates and secondary students in grades 10-12.

The aim of this course is to introduce and analyze the international relations of East Asia. With four great powers, three nuclear weapons states, and two of the world’s largest economies, East Asia is one of the most dynamic and consequential regions in world politics. This course will examine the sources of conflict and cooperation in both periods, assessing competing explanations for key events in East Asia’s international relations. Readings will be drawn from international relations theory, political science and history.

WIP: This text takes six important variables that go into the making of Gujarat as a region: political, social, cultural, religious, economic and linguistic. These six variables are taken as ‘frameworks’ to explore the uniqueness of Gujarat as a region. There are various ways of understanding and interpreting Gujarat. This text seeks to interpret Gujarat through the framework of the above six variables. Through these variables, we shall try to understand the unique features, dynamics and characteristics of a region called Gujarat. It must be noted that this text is not a straightforward history of Gujarat. Rather, it is a way of interpreting Gujarat, its past and present by exploring different variables that makes Gujarat a unique region. In these chapters you will find multiple voices history, silent voices of society, cultural dynamics which have shaped Gujarat, political configurations and its relation to identity. Here you will find the contribution of the dynamics of Gujarati language in shaping the regional and cultural identity of this region. Finally, you will find here how the economic history has given Gujarat a particular slant. The author of this book is Dr. Fr. Sebastian Vazhapilly, SJ.  

This course provides an overview of Asian American history and its relevance for contemporary issues. It covers the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of Asian Americans during WWII, the emergence of the Asian American movement in the 1960s, and the new wave of post–1965 Asian immigration. The class examines the role these experiences played in the formation of Asian American ethnicity. The course addresses key societal issues such as racial stereotyping, media racism, affirmative action, the glass ceiling, the “model minority” syndrome, and anti-Asian harassment or violence. The course is taught in English.

Focusing primarily on the period since 1500, explores the influence of climate, topography, plants, animals, and microorganisms on human history and the reciprocal influence of people on the environment. Topics include the European encounter with the Americas, the impact of modern technology, and the historical roots of the current environmental crisis.

Short Description:
"An Introduction to Geological Field Trips: Case Study Avonlea Badlands, Saskatchewan" emerged out of the passion of a few people for fieldwork. During the COVID-19 pandemic there was a real need to replace the actual field trips - forbidden during the pandemic - with something else that will give the student a taste or a tease of fieldwork. More than being the conclusion, this project wants to be the inspiration that will carry the student out of the classroom and into the field. Consequently, how do you prepare for a field trip? It is easy to assume that somebody else will know everything about the area where you're going and you're just going along for the ride - because at the end of the day you are there to learn. Absolutely true, but being mentally prepared will make everything seem less overwhelming, less foreign and consequently, way more enjoyable. Yet, even the preparation process can feel like a big white elephant in the room. Where do you start? Obviously with the first page of the book.The authors are grateful to receive funding support from the University of Regina’s OER Publishing Program Small Project Grant, which enabled us to actually carry real fieldwork in the Avonlea Badlands in Southern Saskatchewan to collect all the data for this book.

Long Description:
“An Introduction to Geological Field Trips: Case Study Avonlea Badlands, Saskatchewan” is trying to fill the gap between the student and the fieldwork. Most commonly, the geology student is thrown into the fire while in the field trips and has to process a lot of information on the fly. Consequently, sometimes is hard to see the full picture. This book wants to be the starting point for every student looking to embark in that first geological field trip. How to prepare? What to do? How to approach the field work? Which data should be collected? Where to start? It is a work in progress and as the students will learn more about preparation so, too, the authors will learn more and more about the questions that the student has before, during and after the field trip. We are grateful to all the people that contributed to this book. Your dedication to student success is admirable!

Word Count: 17033

ISBN: ISBN-13:978-0-7731-0780-9

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This course introduces undergraduates to the basic theory, institutional architecture, and practice of international development. We take an applied, interdisciplinary approach to some of the “big questions” in our field. This course will unpack these questions by providing an overview of existing knowledge and best practices in the field. The goal of this class is to go beyond traditional dichotomies and narrow definitions of progress, well-being, and culture. Instead, we will invite students to develop a more nuanced understanding of international development by offering an innovative set of tools and content flexibility.

This is an HTML version of a previous resource, originally in Word format and with supplemental materials: https://oertx.highered.texas.gov/courseware/lesson/871

This course is a global-oriented survey of the history of architecture, from the prehistoric to the sixteenth century. It treats buildings and environments, including cities, in the context of the cultural and civilizational history. It offers an introduction to design principles and analysis. Being global, it aims to give the student perspective on the larger pushes and pulls that influence architecture and its meanings, whether these be economic, political, religious or climatic.

This course is an introduction to the consideration of technology as the outcome of particular technical, historical, cultural, and political efforts, especially in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include industrialization of production and consumption, development of engineering professions, the emergence of management and its role in shaping technological forms, the technological construction of gender roles, and the relationship between humans and machines.

Short Description:
This book is a multidisciplinary introduction to the social sciences with an applied approach to the study of human society. This book examines diverse aspects of social life from multiple perspectives, incorporating analytical and methodological insights in a wide range of social science disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, political science, public policy, psychology and human geography. Through real cases of contemporary issues and social problems, students will explore a wide range of topics that shape both Australia and the world today - the changing nature of work and education, the environment and health, community and development. Using a blend of text, video, and online materials, students will learn the skills for independent study and collaborative investigation. Upon the successful completion of this book, students will have gained critical knowledge on Australian and global social issues, relevant policies, and possible solutions.

Long Description:
This book is a multidisciplinary introduction to the social sciences with an applied approach to the study of human society. This book examines diverse aspects of social life from multiple perspectives, incorporating analytical and methodological insights in a wide range of social science disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, political science, public policy, psychology and human geography. Through real cases of contemporary issues and social problems, students will explore a wide range of topics that shape both Australia and the world today – the changing nature of work and education, the environment and health, community and development. Using a blend of text, video, and online materials, students will learn the skills for independent study and collaborative investigation. Upon the successful completion of this book, students will have gained critical knowledge on Australian and global social issues, relevant policies, and possible solutions.

Word Count: 43661

ISBN: 978-1-74272-385-3

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This course examines the major aesthetic, social, and political elements which have shaped modern Japanese culture and society. There are readings on contemporary Japan and historical evolution of the culture are coordinated with study of literary texts, film, and art, along with an analysis of everyday life and leisure activities.

This course explores the historical origins of the Japanese warrior class as well as its reinvention throughout the archipelago’s history, with a special focus on the pre-modern era (200–1600 CE). It highlights key historical contexts including the rise of the imperial court, interactions with the broader world, and the establishment of a warrior-dominated state. It also considers the modern imaginations and uses of the warrior figure.
Note: This course is taught in English with a project that requires research in Japanese.

This course aims to provide students with a general overview of basic themes and issues in Middle Eastern history from the rise of Islam to the present, with an emphasis on the encounters and exchanges between the “Middle East” (Southwest Asia and North Africa) and the “West” (Europe and the United States).