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Alfred Hitchcock was a master at weaving together intimate personal drama and sweeping geopolitical tension — often in the very same scene. In this two-week online course, the third installment of our popular "Best of Hitchcock" series, we'll explore four films from the early 1940s that showcase his uncanny ability to capture both domestic life and international intrigue. Watch the films on your own before class (all four are available to rent inexpensively online), then join us to examine key clips and dig into the themes and motifs that make Hitchcock endlessly fascinating. Another lively trip into the suspenseful, unsettling world only Hitchcock could create.

Week 1 films: Domestic Drama Rebecca and Suspicion
Week 2 films: International Intrigue Foreign Correspondent and Saboteu

Few authors are as quotable, or as consistently underestimated, as Dorothy Parker. Her caustic wit and succinct wisdom have secured her status as a literary powerhouse who moved seamlessly between essays and poetry, fiction and observation, sharp social commentary and deep personal feeling. Yet Parker herself worried that audiences were too dazzled by her "calisthenics with words" to grasp the deeper truths behind her cultural observations. This class gives Parker's life and literature the thoughtful, close reading they deserve. We'll sketch her character and intentions through her own words, then discuss a selection of her most notable work. All readings provided.

Arizona's "Four Southern Tribes" share deep ancestral connections, tracing their roots to people who inhabited south-central Arizona and northern Mexico, as evidenced by geographical, archaeological, linguistic, oral tradition, and historical records. These tribes refer to themselves as "O'odham" (meaning 'People') in their native language and have historically been known as the Papago and Pima Indians. While they occupy several southern Arizona reservations, many members live and work in communities well beyond those boundaries. This presentation offers a rich introduction to historical and modern O'odham cultures from their origins in the ancient Paleoindian, Archaic, and Hohokam traditions to their prominent and vital place in the world today.
 

How did America's founders devise a system that limited state religion while extending religious freedom to all and how has that balance been tested ever since? Drawing on landmark legal challenges to religious freedom, this class explores the revolutionary First Amendment framework the founders created, the ongoing tensions between religious liberty and competing social interests, and what it truly means to live in a pluralistic society. A timely and thought-provoking look at one of America's most enduring constitutional debates.

Is a calorie from a cookie really the same as a calorie from a piece of chicken? This class digs into the science behind macronutrients, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and how they affect weight management and fat loss differently. We'll explore what calories actually are, how the body expends energy, what energy balance means in practice, and how to determine your own macronutrient needs. You'll come away with a clearer, more practical understanding of how food choices, not just calorie counts, shape your body composition and long-term health.

Pre-med students from HON 394 Poetry & Medicine (a Barrett Honors College taught by Dr. Rosemarie Dombrowski) will facilitate a session that explores the resurging practice of poetic medicine, an intervention that involves the reading, discussion, and writing of poetry as a means to navigating illness, ageing, and the stress we hold in our bodies and minds. Students will overview the efficacy of poetic interventions and guide participants through the act of reflective reading and writing. Resources/tools for continuing the practice will also be provided.