Splash Fall 2019
Course Catalog

An introduction to the basics of acting/improvisation through fun performance activities, ensemble games, and working on small scenes! No theatre experience need, just a willingness to move around and an open mind towards creativity.

Many cameras have auto settings that make decisions for you, taking creativity out of your hands. This course will allow you to take that creativity back! We'll define shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, looking over how you can dial in your settings to get perfect exposure with every shot.

Maybe you got a camera for Christmas and aren't sure how to use it. Or maybe you're thinking of getting a DSLR, but have only ever used the disposable cameras you find at the corner drugstore. No matter your experience level, this class will help you take better photos by giving you more control over your camera and your photographs.

With extra time, we may go over basic editing techniques in Adobe Lightroom.

Both film and digital cameras will be covered. All experience levels are welcome!

A super fun and easy introduction to modern calligraphy in a workshop-style class. Calligraphy is a really useful skill for journaling, poster-making, card-writing, and more!
We'll cover how to create beautiful letterforms, brushstrokes, flourishes, and floral doodles using pens and markers. All materials will be provided!

Ever wanted to drop an egg and have it NOT explode?

Unlock mystical secrets of physics and science with AerospaceNU, Northeastern's premier Aerospace Club!

We'll be building rovers to house our fragile cargo and seeing how high you can drop them before they shatter!

Show up your friends, show up your teachers, prove that you are the Egg Master!

(But seriously, we're going to be building a chamber to put an egg in, dropping it from a balcony, and seeing if the egg breaks. Very easy, lots of fun, and a good competition)


Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of eggs Ability to drop said eggs

Ever wondered if you could Spaghetti?
Want to show your Spaghetti Prowess?
Feel smart enough to realize Spaghetti is being used in grammatically incorrect ways in these questions?


Well, look no further! Here you can use Spaghetti in a variety of ways, from building with spaghetti to using spaghetti as a building material!


$$\textit{Wait, isn't that the same thing?}$$


OF COURSE IT IS!!! WHO DOESN'T LOVE BUILDING WITH SPAGHETTI!?!


Also, one more thing. THERE ARE PRIZES! FOR BUILDING WITH SPAGHETTI!


So if you like using spaghetti and/or want to try to win prizes, then this event is definitely for you!


On a more serious note, if you want to have some fun using spaghetti to build different structures and competing with your peers while doing so, then this class is for you!


Prerequisites
Not being allergic to Spaghetti or other food items. (It's fine if you can't eat it, but you need to be able to work with Spaghetti and marshmallows) Be confident with a hot glue gun, or at the very least be confident you won't touch the hot tip of it.

Have you ever thought to yourself that there should be an easier way to do things? If so, this activity will be a great introduction to Lean Process Improvement, which helps make processes more efficient and less wasteful.


In this activity you will learn the basics of Lean Process in Industrial Engineering by altering a process for decorating a cookie. In this simple activity, you will be able to see how processes can be improved by examining each step in order to determine how work is divided up among employees. While decorating cookies is a very simple process when compared to the ones engineers deal with on a daily basis, it should give you an understanding about how lean process can be applied to your daily life.

Ever wondered about the armor worn by knights and how effective it was in protecting them from the weapons of that time?

This session will look at an essential area of engineering called materials science by having students design protective armor to shield a water balloon from attack. In this class you will learn about medieval warfare through an engineering lens.

Try your hand at making your own armor! Can you save the water balloons from their fate?

Have you ever looked at a gadget and wondered how it really works? It could've been your phone, a remote-controlled car, or even a robot! Have you ever thought about making a gadget of your own? Where would you even start?

The Arduino board can help lead you to some of the answers. Arduino is an inexpensive and flexible microcontroller platform that offers a hands-on approach to creating devices that interact with the world around you.

Come learn more about what Arduino is and how you can use it to get a jump-start on your own projects and ideas. In this hands-on workshop, you will get to build circuits and write code to get started on your very own Arduino projects!

From Character to Setting to Dialogue, join us for a fun, low stress writing workshop where we go over the basics of telling a good story. We will be doing some writing, as well as have some time to workshop any previously writen pieces you might want feedback on.

High school and college teach you some fun equations, yet it may be all a distraction to keep you focused on the mediocre while they pull the rug out from under you. Working for the state gives you some knowledge, and I'd like to pass it on. Know your rights, know their laws, and know who to call when life goes down the crapper. No conspiracies, just the truth. You have access to so much, laws, rights, regulations, dealing with banks, dealing with a thief and knowing when someone is absolutely full of IT when they say they know how to fix your car. (They don't.)

What defines a life well lived? How can you live your best life? Clearly, these questions have no definitive answers, but that’s what makes philosophy fun! Through philosophical discourse, you can deepen your outlook on friendship, love, careers, and way of life. Among others, we will study the work of Aristotle, Diogenes, and Nietzsche, focusing on how you can apply their work to your everyday life. The class will focus on seminar-style discussion, giving you the chance to voice your opinions and engage with other class members

When you think of anarchy, what do you think of? Loud English punk music and V for Vendetta? In actuality, anarchism is a diverse political philosophy that has challenged the way we engage with one another since its invention. In this class, we will discuss central tenants of and challenges to anarchism. We will also explore sub-branches of anarchism including anarcho-socialism, anarcho-feminism, anarcho-primitivism, and, yes, anarcho-capitalism.

How much is the human body worth if it’s not in one piece? Your kidneys, bones, hair, and blood are all worth more individually than they are together, but why is this so? And how do these factors contribute to the global trade in human tissues, organs, cells, and even genetic material?
This class will look at the sociopolitical factors underlying the trade of human materials and the ethical implications of the existence of this red market.


Prerequisites
NOTE: This class will not be showing any pictures of human corpses or discussing detailed methods of organ harvesting. The subject material is serious and we would like to treat it respectfully.

Have your parents ever roasted you for being on your phone too much, for spending hours scrolling through social media? Have they ever spent hours reading the newspaper? Well, you should inform them that news has evolved, and that those little political cartoons they look at mocking current politics have transformed into witty and sometimes questionable video clips of kids on the Internet giving their hot take on current events. In this class we'll analyze some of the most infamous political cartoons from the past alongside some of the most iconic vines and tiktoks of our generation, and observe how political satire has changed with each generation.

Hear of the current impeachment inquiry going on with Trump? Confused about what's going on or what this is all about? Who even cares about all this? Come find out why you actually should care about this current scandal and how you're living in a time of history in the making!


Prerequisites
The ability to listen to others with respect and an open mindset to all opinions present in the classroom

Keith "Chief Keef" Cozart is among the most enigmatic and interesting figures in 21st century popular culture and despite being only 24 years old his life is more fascinating than those of most musicians dead or alive. This class will explore his progression from high school dropout to becoming the greatest rapper of all time with an emphasis on analyzing his personal philosophy to make sense of his actions.

Thanksgiving dinner is coming right around the corner and you need to be prepared to argue with your conservative aunt and uncle and possibly ruin everyone's night by neglecting the joy of spending time with family and instead focusing on the nuances of American politics. This class will analyze former President Reagan's domestic and foreign policy and help to elucidate why (if such a place exists) he is currently festering in the 7th circle of Hell.

The intention of this course is to provide a better understanding of linguistics and help students gain a better undertsanding of the neurological basis of linguistics.

Your password must include at least 8 characters, a mix of uppercase letters, two symbols, no quotes... ok but who cares?
Hopefully you will, after I teach you how to steal passwords.

The Internet's revolutionary successes depend on good security. Moreover, the job field is high paying with big demand.

We will start with common exploits like script injection (XSS) and packet sniffing (MitM). Mitigation strategies for these attacks will also be discussed. After these examples of offensive security, we will mention basic security principles, encryption, and password storage. You will also have the chance to try using the Linux shell.


Prerequisites
HTML and JavaScript (The course is fast-paced, so strong digital literacy and programming experience would make things easy. With that said, all prerequisite knowledge will be breezed over and all are encouraged to sign up!)

Have you ever wondered wut git was? Do you know what it is but don't really know how to use it? Do you just want to learn some fun CS crap that you'll actually be able to use to impress?

Come here and I'll be able to walk you thru some intro stuff. Cmon it'll be fun and you might learn something


Prerequisites
PLEASE make a github account prior to coming to save class time. If you want to use your own personal device, you'll likely have to figure out how to install the necessary software on your own (shouldn't be hard but still)

Poop transplants: a life-saving rescue therapy. How do they work, and what does that mean for us?

More than half of the cells in your body are not human cells. They are bacteria, and they affect everything from food digestion to psychological disorders. We will review recent discoveries in microbiome research and how new correlations are changing our understanding of health.

- What are bacteria?
- Immunology
- Clinical Case: C. diff Dysbiosis
- Fecal Microbiota Transplants
- How to wash your hands (activity)
- Correlation vs. Causation
- Microbiome Research
- FMT for Treatment of Neurological and Psychological Disorders

Have you ever wondered how science REALLY gets done? Sure, you've probably had to tame an ancient Bunsen burner or stared at some petri dishes of some common strain of bacteria in a class in school, but what about the cool stuff? We're talking about the sort of things news anchors explain poorly after some "researchers" did a "study" somewhere, and then maybe some movie messes up by making it look like graduate students actually sleep or something.

In this class, you get to come up with the questions you want to answer, whether it's how to cure cancer, how to grow cantaloupes on the moon, or how to make enough spider silk to be able to sew it into a sofa, and I'll try to walk you through the sorts of cutting-edge methods real scientists would use to try to solve your problem, no matter how ridiculous it is. That being said, I am mostly familiar with biochemistry, so that's roughly what I want this discussion-based class to focus on.

Warning: nothing discussed in this class should be attempted at home, even if for some reason you have the resources to do so. That's what labs are for-- providing a nice safe space so you don't make a massive fire or unleash genetically engineered grasshoppers on your neighborhood.


Prerequisites
Some basic familiarity with biology and the things you're likely to find in a lab would be good, but is not necessary. Come willing to ask questions.

Do you have a morbid fascination with human parasites? Want to learn about microscopic organisms that will fuel your nightmares? Then this class is for you! From toxoplasma gondii to rabies to mad cow disease, we will learn learn how these parasites hack your neurology and examine the strange results that follow. In this class, we will focus specifically on parasites that change your brain and learn about new research revealing the shocking effects of a mind-altering parasite that has already infected at least 30% of humanity!

This class in broken up into a variety of workshops on multiple aspects of your brain. Learn more about the biology and psychology of the human mind and how it impacts your everyday life. Dive into what makes you, you!


Taught by Northeastern's Neuroscience Club

AKA: Psychopharmacology

We're going to cover a variety of potential topics relating to drugs (illicit and prescription) - their effects on behavior, how they work in the brain, and how they affect society.

Feel free to bring any questions you may have!


Prerequisites
The only thing I really ask is that you come into the class with an open mind and the ability to take the topics seriously - we'll have fun, but some of this stuff gets heavy.

Circadian rhythms - everyone has one, right? Turns out that some people have rhythms that make them nocturnal (hi), while some people have rhythms that better suit them for life on Mars. This class is for anyone who HATES waking up early, anyone who's ever felt like they got run over by a bus after an international flight, or anyone who is interested in why exactly the number "24" isn't just a construct but is woven into our DNA.

We'll definitely be getting into some neuroscience and genetics here, but we're also gonna talk about what it's like to live in a cave and whether that sleeping cure your Grandma tells you "works every time" is real or not.


Prerequisites
A bit of genetics or biology would be helpful, but definitely won't get in the way!

"Multiple personalities," hearing color, surviving a rod being blasted through your brain, and more - welcome to an exploration of neuroscience and abnormal psychology through the things that go wrong.

Please be sure to bring any questions you may have relating to psychiatric and neurological disorder!


Prerequisites
Like my "drugs" class, all I ask is you have an open mind and the ability to take things seriously. Everything will be nice and light-hearted for the most part, but a number of our topics are fairly serious.

Did you grow up trying to catch 'em all? Or are you looking to answer the real questions - is it actually possible for a whale to breed with a cat? Can a creature eat like a plant, or... Breathe fire? Could we actually create an electric yellow mouse in a lab?

Make no mistake - this is a class on genetics and a crazy field called synthetic biology, which you've heard of in news stories on "designer babies" and CRISPR, and in movies like Jurassic Park.

So let's stretch our imagination and see what biology allows. It'll all start with a woolly mammoth frozen in ice, an elephant uterus, and a really long needle...


Prerequisites
I'll teach you all the biology and genetics you need to know :)

For some animals, losing a limb or even a spine is no big deal. Why can’t humans?
Stem cells hold the key to everything from regrowing organs for transplantation to turning back the clock on aging, but what do you really know about them?
This class will take a look at current stem cell technologies, uses, and research and how they have impacted the fields of regenerative medicine and bioethics.

Are you interested in chemistry?

Do you like hands-on experiments?

If so, join us to learn about some different chemical properties and reactions! We'll be exploring various applications of chemistry using everyday materials: testing the dye contents of candy using chromatography, making your own hydrophobic sand, and more!

A fun and interactive class where you will learn the ins and outs of minimizing stress and the effects it can have on the brain. Look forward to stress reducing activities!


Prerequisites
A good attitude

In this class we will talk about some really cool cutting edge technology in the neuroscience world!
We will go over neuroscience basics and then dig in deep to the practicality and ethics of designing computers that interact with the brain.

There is no saving the world.

We take this as our starting premise: climate change is almost certainly too far gone to do anything about, even if the necessary changes in technology and economy were effected today. And if they weren't, we certainly don't have the time to implement them before the cities are swallowed by the sea, the oil wells run dry, and the fields turn to dust.

But that's not to say there's not hope. We can still survive and thrive, even if our civilization can't. Come find out how.

What you buy and what you want to buy are different. They know how to get to you, and they always win. Explore how companies market to consumers WORLDWIDE and maybe by the end you can be a pro too. The basics will be enough for you to break down every advertisement and every logo you see and know exactly what you're getting. If you're even slightly interested in business, creating a business, or even just marketing in general, this will be a nice view into what you could be doing in the future.

Fancy yourself a pro gamer?
Feel you’ve got what it takes to win at some games?
Want to play games with your friends but don’t know what to play?

This course is all about games, with all of their different types and play styles, along with how to make them and their surrounding culture!
If you want some game recommendations, want to learn more about games, or even if you want to just see what’s going on with the nerds, come join us for a fun and informative session on fun games I have played over my many years of gaming!


Prerequisites
Have played a game before

Learn how to be smart with your money - everything from budgeting, investing, credit cards, and loans, and anything else you want to know about. Probably will not talk about taxes because they are boring.


Prerequisites
Can add 2+2 (if not, thats ok I'll teach you)

Want to get into dungeons and dragons but don't know where to start? Want to learn how to make a compelling character backstory? Want some help figuring out that massive rule book? This course will go over the rule basics of Dungeons and Dragons as well as guide students on creating their own characters. By the end of the class students should be ready to play their own games of Dungeons and Dragons.

Have you ever stayed up late working on an assignment due in only a matter of a couple of hours? Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the amount of work you've had to get done in any given point in time? Have you ever felt STRESSED OUT about anything, be it school, work, or anything at all?

If you answered yes to any of the above listed questions, or are just simply looking for any tips, tricks, and advice on how to handle and manage your stress levels, this class may help provide you with some real-life, applicable solutions!


Prerequisites
An open mind and respect!

My absolute guilty pleasure is watching game shows of all kind. Chain Reaction got rebooted? I'm on it. I've probably seen every episode of Cutthroat Kitchen twice. And don't even get me started when the Big Brother live feeds turn on. But I'm sick of just watching game shows -

- which is why I've created my own for you all to play. There'll be teams, there'll be challenges, and there may even be prizes. Whatever your thing is - solving puzzles, thinking outside the box, competitive drive, cooperation (or manipulation... what?)... Game on.


Prerequisites
We're putting lecture slides and laser pointers away on this one, team, so be prepared to play!

We want students to be able to learn about friendship. It is a topic that is never really taught in school and isn’t something that ever gets explained - even though friendship is one of the hardest aspects of life to master. We are teaching the class together and we think we are such a good example of a strong and healthy friendship. We want to be able to show student what its like to be in a healthy & loving friendship. They hear so much about relationships and all that, but mastering it with a friend is not any less important (if not more). We will use real life examples and videos to make it collaborative and hopefully help students learn more about themselves and what they want from a friendship.