This course examines the birth and international expansion of an American industry of political marketing. It focuses attention on the cultural processes, sociopolitical contexts and moral utopias that shape the practice of political marketing in the U.S. and in different countries. By looking at the debates and expert practices at the core of the business of politics, the course explores how the “universal” concept of democracy is interpreted and reworked through space and time, while examining how different cultural groups experimenting with political marketing understand the role of citizens in a democracy.

Momentum is not only a physical principle; it is a psychological phenomenon. Students learn how the "Big Mo" of the bandwagon effect contributes to the development of fads and manias, and how modern technology and mass media accelerate and intensify the effect. Students develop media literacy and critical thinking skills to analyze trends and determine the extent to which their decisions may be influenced by those who manipulate a few opinion leaders. Note: The literacy activities for the Mechanics unit are based on physical themes that have broad application to our experience in the world concepts of rhythm, balance, spin, gravity, levity, inertia, momentum, friction, stress and tension.

In this lesson, students will explore a market basket of goods and services and determine what is in each category in the market basket. Students learn that the consumer price index (CPI) is made up of market basket goods and services for which the prices are compared each month to determine if the price of any of the items has changed and if there has been inflation. Students will engage in role-play scenarios to understand the effects of inflation.

Students become “experts” and make creative presentations about the different ecological roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers at local and global scales.

A survey of how America has become the world’s largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70’s energy crisis, global warming, and possible paths for the future.

A survey of how America has become the world’s largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70’s energy crisis, global warming, and possible paths for the future.

Students will learn about the ways garden organisms depend on each other for survival and create "human" food chains to show how energy is transferred from the sun to living things.

With a continued focus on the Sonoran Desert, students are introduced to the concepts of food chains and food webs through a PowerPoint® presentation. They learn the difference between producers and consumers and study how these organisms function within their communities as participants in various food chains. They further understand ecosystem differences by learning how multiple food chains link together to form intricate and balanced food webs. At lesson end, students construct food webs using endemic desert species.

This course will focus on the emergence and evolution of industrial societies around the world. The student will begin by comparing the legacies of industry in ancient and early modern Europe and Asia and examining the agricultural and commercial advances that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. The student will then follow the history of industrialization in different parts of the world, taking a close look at the economic, social, and environmental effects of industrialization. This course ultimately examines how industrialization developed, spread across the globe, and shaped everyday life in the modern era. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: identify key ideas and events in the history of industrialization; identify connections between the development of capitalism and the development of modern industry; use analytical tools to evaluate the factors contributing to industrial change in different societies; identify the consequences of industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries in different societies; critique historical interpretations of the causes and effects of industrialization; and analyze and interpret primary source documents describing the process of industrialization and life in industrial societies. (History 363)

Students learn about energy flow in food webs, including the roles of the sun, producers, consumers and decomposers in the energy cycle. They model a food web and create diagrams of food webs using their own drawings and/or images from nature or wildlife magazines. Students investigate the links between the sun, plants and animals, building their understanding of the web of nutrient dependency and energy transfer.

Students learn about energy and nutrient flow in various biosphere climates and environments. They learn about herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, food chains and food webs, seeing the interdependence between producers, consumers and decomposers. Students are introduced to the roles of the hydrologic (water), carbon, and nitrogen cycles in sustaining the worlds' ecosystems so living organisms survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

Students learn basic marketing concepts and use professional marketing techniques to compose an advertisement for a hybrid vehicle. In the process, they learn the principles of comparative analysis.

In this lesson, students learn how businesses use advertising to influence the choices consumers make. Using magazines, students see that advertisements use a combination of facts and opinions to influence tastes and preferences. Students also listen to a story about a Korean-American family that owns a food cart. They learn how the business changes as a result of competition and how business owners can influence consumers’ tastes and preferences. Working in groups, students create print advertisements for the food cart in the book to see firsthand how advertisements can influence consumers’ choices through tastes and preferences.

This course is designed to extend the student's knowledge of the basic microeconomic principles that will provide the foundation for their future work in economics and give them insight into how economic models can help us think about important real world phenomena. Topics include supply and demand interaction, utility maximization, profit maximization, elasticity, perfect competition, monopoly power, imperfect competition, and game theory. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Explain the standard theory in microeconomics at an intermediate level; Explain and use the basic tools of microeconomic theory, and apply them to help address problems in public policy; Analyze the role of markets in allocating scarce resources; Explain both competitive markets, for which basic models of supply and demand are most appropriate, and markets in which agents act strategically, for which game theory is the more appropriate tool; Synthesize the impact of government intervention in the market; Develop quantitative skills in doing economic cost and consumer analysis using calculus; Compare and contrast arguments concerning business and politics, and make good conjectures regarding the possible solutions; Analyze the economic behavior of individuals and firms, and explore how they respond to changes in the opportunities and constraints that they face and how they interact in markets; Apply basic tools that are used in many fields of economics, including household economics, labor economics, production theory, international economics, natural resource economics, public finance, and capital markets. (Economics 201)

Introduction to Media Studies is designed for students who have grown up in a rapidly changing global multimedia environment and want to become more literate and critical consumers and producers of media. Through an interdisciplinary comparative and historical lens, the course defines “media” broadly as including oral, print, performance, photographic, broadcast, cinematic, and digital cultural forms and practices. The course looks at the nature of mediated communication, the functions of media, the history of transformations in media and the institutions that help define media’s place in society. This year’s course will focus on issues of network culture and media convergence, addressing such subjects as Intellectual Property, peer2peer authoring, blogging, and game modification.

This course is designed for students seeking a fundamental understanding of Japanese history, politics, culture, and the economy. “Raw Fish 101” (as it is often labeled) combines lectures, seminar discussion, small-team case studies, and Web page construction exercises, all designed to shed light on contemporary Japan.

Kiddynomics: An Economics Curriculum for Young Learners is a set of lessons designed to introduce young children to the economic way of thinking. Informed decision-making is a critical thinking skill that students can use throughout their school, personal, and work lives. And, as citizens in a democratic society, they should understand basic principles of how the economy operates. Beginning economic education early and building on that learning throughout students’ education is the best way to ensure they develop vital decision-making skills.

This lesson focuses on the importance of airplanes in today's society. Airplanes of all shapes and sizes are used for hundreds of different reasons, including recreation, commercial business, public transportation, and delivery of goods, among many others. From transporting people to crop-dusting, our society and our economy have come to depend on airplanes. Students will discuss their own experiences with airplanes and learn more about the role of airplanes in our world.

Students will be able to identify methods used by predatory lenders for prevention, comprehend basic consumer rights, and demonstrate knowledge of filing complaints when these rights are violated. Additionally, students will understand tactics employed by predatory lenders and be equipped with the skills to avoid falling victim to them.

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how aircrafts have decreased the amount of time it takes to transport people and cargo. Students will compute the time it takes to travel between two cities for several modes of transportation including trucks, trains and airplanes. Students will also do some critical thinking to determine why airplanes are not always used.