Online Courses   

The death of stars is one of the most important phenomena in the universe. Stars end their lives in various ways, some peacefully and some spectacularly. Besides producing an incredible show, exploding stars are the sources of cosmic rays and many of the heavy elements which make up our world. This course will describe how some stars end their lives by exploding, explore why there are different types of explosions, analyze how these explosions have influenced our history, and see how supernovae are essential for understanding the past and future of the universe.

Focusing on film musicals from 1990 to the present, we will show clips as we explore trends in modern film musicals. Always popular are turning Broadway musicals into films (e.g. Wicked), but a newer trend transforms non-musical films into musicals (e.g. Hairspray and Mean Girls). Other trends include incorporation of contemporary music and biography musicals. Join us as we appreciate this great American art form.

Artificial super intelligence will be here soon and could threaten democracy. The technology could destabilize democracies by eliminating mass employment, particularly white-collar jobs. It could become autonomous and take over society. Totalitarian states could use it to dominate the world through biological, cyber, and military attacks, influence operations, and economic disruption. Authoritarian and democratically-elected officials could use it for domestic mass surveillance and propaganda. Tech companies could use it to control society and government. This course will describe artificial super intelligence and its rapid development and threats to democracy.