University Bulletin (2021-2022)

University offers the Justice Brandeis Semester (JBS), an intensive, immersive experiential learning option through which small groups of up to 12-15 students may earn credits while focusing on such varied topics as A Sports Writing Summer in Boston, Health, Law and Justice, and Voice, Web and Mobile Applications. The courses offered as part of these programs include experiential learning components, such as fieldwork, internships, or outside research.

JBS internships, field-based research, creative work or community-engaged learning allow students to:

1. Gain real-world experience through experiential learning.
2. Build close relationships with professors and small groups of students.
3. 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.

Current JBS Offerings

App Development and Marketing
Health, Law and Justice
Storytelling as Social Practice

Past JBS Offerings

Health, Law and Justice
Human Rights Advocacy in the Immigration Process
Voice, Web and Mobile Applications

BUS 134aj Entrepreneurial Marketing
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: BUS 152a or BUS 252a.
Examines idea evaluation and development of early stage businesses. Students learn to identify unique, compelling business opportunities, size the market and potential demand, and develop successful go-to market strategies. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Grace Zimmerman

COSI 152aj Web Application Development
[ sn ]
Prerequisites: COSI 12b.
Introduces 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.
Timothy Hickey

COSI 154aj The JBS Incubator
[ sn ]
Introduces 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.
Timothy Hickey and Grace Zimmerman

LGLS 98bj Independent Research
Explores an array of complex issues in depth during the seminars as well as in the "real world"; as they attend public meetings or hearings and actively dialog with stakeholders. We will examine the day-to-day issues faced by stakeholders in the midst of reform efforts. While connecting theory and practice, students will take initiative and actively engage in structured assignments. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Sarah Curi and Alice Noble

LGLS 114aj American Health Care: Reform
[ ss ]
Nine years after the historic passage of the ACA, the United States and our health care system are at a crossroads. While the ACA seems to have weathered most of the significant implementation challenges, even its most ardent supporters acknowledge that the law provides only a partial fix for our nation's health care system. While access should improve appreciably, particularly for those who are currently uninsured, many will still remain without access to needed care. Moreover, among advanced nations our costs are the highest by far and the quality of our care is no better than that found in these less costly nations. We will explore the ACA, the events leading up to its passage, the policies the law was designed to further, its impacts so far--and the potential repeal and replace efforts. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Alice Noble

LGLS 131bj Patient Autonomy: Law, Medicine and Ethics
[ ss ]
At the heart of our evolving health care system are the doctor and the patient. Related to the doctor-patient relationship are often complex issues related to patient autonomy, life and death treatment decisions, and the cost of and access to care. They implicate questions of justice and the just distribution of care, a key goal of health care reform. We will explore ethical, legal, and social issues (including end-of-life-decision making, physician assisted suicide, procreative liberty, cloning, and genetic therapies) from the micro level of patient care at the patient's bedside to the macro issues of the health care system in which patient care is delivered and financed. Offered as part of the JBS program.
Sarah Curi

ENG 40bj The Birth of the Short Story
[ hum wi ]
How did the genre of the short story emerge and what distinctive work has it performed in its long and protean history? What unique publication and reading practices have been a part of this history? And why does the short story still matter? With a focus on nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers such as Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, Twain, Chekhov, Mansfield, Hemingway, O’Connor, García Márquez, Johnson, Wallace, and Moore, we will work through the techniques and craft that have defined the short story tradition. And we will consider recent experiments in short stories, mapping where the genre is going next. Offered as part of JBS program.
David Sherman

ENG 60aj Storytelling Performance
[ hum oc ]
This experiential course is a workshop for students to craft and perform stories as part of the Brandeis Storytelling Brigade. Through a series of collaborative exercises and rehearsals, students will develop a repertoire of at least four stories: one fictional story for young children, one folk tale for young children, one story based on historical research for young adults or adults, and one autobiographical or fictional story for young adults or adults. We will tell our individual and group stories, as a team, at youth summer programs, libraries, teen centers, open mics, and other public spaces. Offered as part of JBS program.
David Sherman

ENG 111aj Narrative Theory
[ hum ]
Explores fundamental concepts in narrative theory and narratology, from Aristotle until today. We will consider the formal features of plots, characters, and narrative discourse. And we will read theoretical accounts of the role that narrative plays in personal identity, community belonging, moral judgment, historical knowledge, and political authority. As a prominent body of scholarship within literary studies, narrative theory offers insights into a fundamental way in which we organize our experiences and make sense of our world. Offered as part of JBS program.
David Sherman