Sections
Justice Brandeis Semester
Last updated: July 14, 2011 at 3:45 p.m.
JBS internships, field-based research, creative work or community-engaged learning allow students to:
* gain real-world experience through experiential learning.
* build close relationships with professors and small groups of students.
* acquire skills that will make them stand apart from their peers after Brandeis.
The distinctive elements of a Brandeis education include the intense intellectual engagement students share with our cutting-edge faculty; the rich experiential learning opportunities students encounter in studios, archives, research labs, work settings and the community; and the university’s longstanding commitment to global engagement and social justice. All of these elements are embodied in the new Justice Brandeis Semester.
Extended JBS Program
The Extended JBS Program allows students to expand upon the summer JBS program through an internship placement in the fall semester. Students would be considered a full-time student from the start of the summer program through the end of the fall semester.
Students enrolled in an Extended JBS Program can earn a total of 16 to 20 credits and will pay tuition for the equivalent of the fall semester.
Courses of Instruction
Civil Rights and Racial Justice
SOC
97bj
Group Readings and Research
Beginning in week 3 of the JBS, students will work in pairs in one of six county field sites. In collaboration with students from the University of Mississippi and other local colleges and universities, as well as with local community partners, JBS students will undertake interviews, archival research, and content analysis of digitally-recorded community proceedings. This field work will be supervised by Brandeis faculty and graduate assistants as well as by Winter Institute staff, and each JBS student will be required to attend a weekly individual debriefing session. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Cunningham
SOC
156aj
Social Change in American Communities
[
ss
]
Provides a theoretical foundation for understanding social movement dynamics, with a particular emphasis on the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Topics will include modes of civil rights organizing, the mobilization of social, cultural, and material resources, the development of strategic and tactical repertoires, determinants of individual participation, and varieties of anti-civil rights enforcement. The central aim is to provide a historically-contextualized and theoretically-informed sense of the trajectory of the civil rights struggle in the U.S. South. We will pay particular attention to sources of local variation, to understand the interplay among community-level contexts, individual action, and socio-political legacies. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Cunningham
SOC
182aj
Applied Research Methods
[
ss
wi
]
Provides hands-on training in social science research methodology. It assumes no prior knowledge of the research process, and covers issues related to research design, data collection, and causal analysis within the context of a large-scale collaborative research project. Covers both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including statistical, comparative-historical, interview, and archival methods. Students approach their methodological work as a member of a “research team,” with responsibility over a component of the class’ broader project. Requires students to coordinate their efforts with colleagues and community partners to identify research questions, define the data necessary to answer those questions, gather and code that data, and begin the process of analysis. A component of the class will employ the statistical software package SPSS, which students can download for free from the LTS website. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Cunningham
Environmental Health and Justice Program
AMST
102aj
Environment, Social Justice, and Empowerment
[
oc
ss
wi
]
Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
This community-engaged course involves students first-hand in the legal, policy, science, history and social impacts of current environmental health issues challenging individuals and families and communities today, with a particular focus on low-income, immigrant communities and the profound and unique roles played by women. Students will engage directly in the topics through field trips, visiting speakers and discussions with stakeholders themselves. They also will address the issues by assisting low income residents in Waltham at the Tenant Advocacy Clinic, and collaborating in projects with EPA, DEP and local organizations such as Healthy Waltham, the Waltham Family School, Waltham Family YMCA, Jewish Family and Children's Service, Joseph Smith Community Health Center and others. Offered ast part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin
BISC
6bj
Environmental Health
[
sn
]
Does NOT meet requirements for the major in biology. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
An introduction to the science and tools of environmental health, giving students hands-on skills to explore directly current issues experienced by local communities. Students will become familiar with the environmental health paradigm, the conceptual model of the field, including underlying principles of hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicology, risk assessment, and characterization and interpretation of epidemiological studies. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin and Mr. Stewart
ENVS
89aj
Environmental Internship
[
oc
]
JBS students may do a fall internship related to the issues addressed in the JBS. The environmental studies internship provides the opportunity for students to experience firsthand actual environmental challenges in government, industry, public interest organizations and scientific research institutions. Students tackle current environmental issues alongside professionals in the environmental field, experiencing the real-life context and application of their course work. Weekly on-line discussion forums will provide perspective and a substantive basis for the internship experience, and students will present their work at the semi-annual Environmental Internship Symposium. Internship placements are individually tailored to support each student's academic goals and experience. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin
ENVS
98aj
Independent Study
Students explore in depth a topic directly related to their internship. In collaboration with the instructor, students develop a reading list and research questions, and write a series of short papers as well as a final paper. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin
ENVS
102aj
Field Research and Study Methods: Environmental Health
[
ss
]
Comprises the skills and methods component of the four-course Environmental Health and Justice JBS. Students will be trained in environmental health study design, sampling methodology, field research and equipment techniques, data interpretation, statistical analysis, risk communication and presentation. The course will equip students to design and carry out a semester-long environmental health research study integral to the themes of Environmental Health and Justice JBS. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin and Mr. Stewart
Filmmaking: From Script to Screen
ENG
49aj
Scriptwriting for the Short Film
[
hum
]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Students will be selected after the submission of a sample of writing, preferably four to seven pages. Please refer to the Schedule of Classes for submission formats and deadlines within registration periods. Offered as part of JBS program.
Addresses many facets of writing screenplays for short films (under eight pages). Students develop two to three scripts through creative exercises, rewriting, and critiques. Supplementary screenings and reading focuses on the particulars of short fiction and cinematic writing.
Staff
FILM
110aj
Film Production I
[
ca
ss
]
An introduction to the basic principles and techniques of fictional narrative motion picture production. Each student will produce three short films. The films will emphasize dramatic development and creative storytelling through image composition, camera movement, editing, and sound. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Weinberg
FILM
110bj
Motion Picture Editing
[
ss
]
Students will develop visual literacy through a study of the editor's role in cinematic storytelling. The course provides an overview of the craft's history and theory and offers practical training in editing digital video with Final Cut Pro. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Dellelo
Mobile Applications and Game Development
COSI
89aj
Research Internship
Full-time internship with at least 300 hours from August to December. Students blog about their internship, comment on classmates blog entries and write papers about their internship and its role in the world. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff
COSI
98aj
Independent Study
Read scholarly articles related to web services, mobile applications, and cloud computing. Requires a final paper ideally related to student's internship. Offered as part of JBS program.
Staff
COSI
152aj
Web Application Programming
[
sn
]
Prerequisites: COSI 11a, 12b, and 21a.
An introduction to web programming that covers the fundamental languages and tools, including HTML/CSS for page layout, javascript/ajax for client-side integration, and server-side programming in Java, Ruby, and SQL. The course also discusses security, scaling/optimization, and multi-tier architectures. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Hickey
COSI
152bj
Web App Development for Social Networks
[
sn
]
Prerequisites: COSI 11a, 12b.
Covers advanced topics in web architecture, such as system security, scaling and deployment, advanced REST concepts and others. We will also create a taxonomy of social networking systems to determine the role of each facet of such systems in their design and operation. Usually offered every second year. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Hickey
COSI
153aj
Mobile Application Development
[
sn
]
Prerequisites: COSI 11a, 12b, and 21b.
An introduction to the design and analysis of mobile applications that covers the architecture of mobile devices, APIs for graphical user interfaces on mobile devices, location-aware computing, social networking. Also covers the theory and practice of space and time optimization for these relatively snall and slow devices. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Hickey
COSI
153bj
Mobile Game Design
[
sn
]
Prerequisites: COSI 11a, 12b.
An introduction to the design, implementation, testing and analysis of mobile games including the architecture of 2D and 3D games, interaction with mobile input/output devices, networking for multi-person games, and mechanisms for marketing, distributing, and maintaining mobile games. Usually offered every second year. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Hickey
COSI
154aj
The JBS Incubator
[
sn
]
Prerequisite: COSI 11a, 12b, and 21a.
An introduction to software engineering for web and mobile applications. Covers agile programming techniques, rapid prototyping, source control paradigms, effective software documentation, design of effective APIs, software testing and analysis, software licensing, with an introduction to business plans for software entrepreneurs. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Hickey
COSI
210aj
Independent Study
Read scholarly articles related to web services, mobile applications, and cloud computing. Requires a final paper ideally related to student's internship.
Staff
COSI
293aj
Research Internship
Full-time internship with at least 300 hours from August to December. Students blog about their internship, comment on classmates blog entries and write papers about their internship and its role in the world.
Staff
Brandeis In The Hague (Summer)
Please see the program page for full details.
IGS/LGLS
180a
The Spirit of International Law
[
ss
]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.
This course provides a broad survey of international law--how it aspires to peace, justice, and human rights; and how it meets the hard realities of a complex world. Building on direct contact with international tribunals, the course considers social, cultural, political, and economic factors shaping global justice, along with the impact of legal values on nations, regions, and communities. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Gaskins
IGS/LGLS
185b
Advocacy in the International Criminal Court
[
ss
]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.
After setting the historical and critical framework for international criminal law, this course features intensive workshops with advocates and officials of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in cooperation with the University of Leiden. Sessions will include moot court exercises and discussions with judges from the major international tribunals. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Gaskins
Brandeis In The Hague (Spring)
Also includes a practicum component and direct enrollment course at the University of Leiden. Please see the program page for full details.
IGS/LGLS
128b
Networks of Global Justice
[
ss
]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.
Compares constitutional practices in the United States; the reformed communist nations of Eastern Europe; and the modernizing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Focuses on the creation and evolution of constitutional structures, problems of federation and ethnicity, and protection of fundamental rights. Usually offered every second year.
Staff
IGS/LGLS
180a
The Spirit of International Law
[
ss
]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.
This course provides a broad survey of international law--how it aspires to peace, justice, and human rights; and how it meets the hard realities of a complex world. Building on direct contact with international tribunals, the course considers social, cultural, political, and economic factors shaping global justice, along with the impact of legal values on nations, regions, and communities. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Gaskins