Completed Coursework

Spring 2024

  • PHIL 201 - Logic with Dr. Mark Bedau

    • This course concerns the distinction between good and bad reasoning. We will develop a formal theory of logic and practice practical techniques for representing the logical forms that underlie reasoning and proving whether or not they are valid. If time allows, we will also cover selected topics in metalogic (e.g., can we prove whether a formal theory of logic works is correct?), philosophical logic (e.g., how does formal logic apply to things that do not exist?), and computational logic (e.g., what questions about logic can a machine settle?).

  • REL 363 - Holy Sh*t: Religious Things with Dr. Candace Mixon

    • What makes a thing, a place or a person sacred? This course focuses on the tangible elements of religion: the materials, objects, spaces, art, blood and guts that inspire belief and community. We will explore the way "things" interact with humans in their processes of creation, interpretation and the (re)definition of the religious, the sacred, the natural and supernatural, the holy, the profane, the secular, the immaterial, and transcendent, grounding our exploration in case studies. Our work will raise our awareness of the significance of materiality in religion across religious traditions and raise questions of authenticity, replication, and commodification. This course will include small group discussions, field trips, and multimedia presentations.

  • CRWR 201 - Making Fiction with Prof. Sara Jaffe

    • In this course, students will learn about and experiment with the tools of fiction writing. Students will complete numerous generative, exploratory forays into the world of fiction, honing their craft as well as considering the ethical, political, and personal implications that arise when one transmits language to the page. Our reading list will be comprised of work by contemporary writers who represent the range of what gets classified as fiction today, such as Carmen Maria Machado, Percival Everett, Stephen Graham Jones, Claire-Louise Bennett, N.K. Jemisin, and Poupeh Missaghi. Class sessions will be used primarily for discussion of assigned readings and student work.

Fall 2023

  • CRWR 311 - Advanced Poetry Workshop with Prof. Joan Naviyuk Kane

    • The focus of this advanced workshop is to provide an intensive critical forum for students with previous poetry workshop experience to engage deeply with the practice of reading and writing poems. We will work diligently to further the development of each poem/poet, exploring various strategies to generate and extend new work, and giving close consideration to the different formal elements.

  • ENG 211 - Introduction to Poetry and Poetics with Dr. Peter Miller

    • This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental elements of a poem, such as rhythm, diction, imagery, metaphor, tone, form, speaker, and audience. We will read texts from a wide historical range and consider the historical development of selected forms and techniques. The course will also examine what some poets and critics have regarded as the nature and function of poetry and what bearing such theories have on the practice of poetry and vice versa.

  • HUM 211 - Birth of the Modern with Dr. David Garrett

    • Through the critical study and analysis of a selection of literary, artistic, religious, philosophical, and scientific works from a period of intense social, political, and cultural change, students will become familiar with the ways early modern Europeans constructed and confronted:  issues of political and religious authority, social and gender hierarchies, conceptions of the self and its ability to comprehend the world, the nature of artistic, literary, and musical expression, and interactions with non-European societies and civilizations. 

  • REL 141 - Ancient Christianity with Dr. Michael Foat

    • The course serves as an introduction to the Christian religion in the ancient world until the rise of Islam. After an introduction to the earliest Christian writings, translated from the Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Syriac, the course traces the development of Christian institutional forms, the religion’s manifold interpretive strategies and theological debates, its ritual practices and associated material cultures, and its expansion from its origin in Roman Iudaea eastward to the greater Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and China; southward to Egypt and the Horn of Africa; and westward to Europe and North Africa.

Spring 2023

  • LTWR 109 - Creative Writing Poetry with Prof. Richard Wollman

    • Targets the eager and curious writer of poems seeking structure, feedback, and models of excellence in a workshop setting. Assumes that those who want to write are those who have been deeply moved by the writing of others. Includes extensive reading and attendance at poetry readings in the Boston area.

  • PHIL 130 - Ethics with Dr. Wanda Torres Gregory

    • Focuses on the theoretical approaches to ethics in the classical Western tradition (Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill) and in multicultural and contemporary perspectives. Topics include theories of the good, moral relativism, concepts of moral obligation, definitions of virtue, and utilitarian philosophy.

  • LDR 101 - Leadership through Letters with Dr. Patrick Sylvain

    • Leaders use and have used writing to change the world. This course will focus on texts that created significant social change and the authors who wrote them… Students in this course will think about how and why books and speeches make us think, feel, and act, and how remarkable leaders have harnessed their power to improve the world.

  • LDR 205 - Non-Fiction Workshop with Dr. Farooz Rather

    • A thematically focused workshop that allows students to develop their creative non-fiction beyond the introductory level. Frequent writing and reflection on writing; extensive revision; workshop discussion of student writing. Readings in contemporary and canonical creative non-fiction.

Fall 2022

  • PHIL 152 - Philosophy through Literature and Film with Dr. Wanda Torres Gregory

    • Examines philosophical themes and issues found in major works of literature and film. Based on a realization that meaning and truth arise through reflection upon everyday lived reality, we explore how one lives, struggles, and creates meaning in one's search for identity, wholeness, and truth by examining works of literature and film through various lenses of critical analysis.

  • SPAN 102 - Elementary Spanish II with Prof. Pia Cuneo Ruiz

    • Semester two of first-year Spanish.

  • LTWR 107 - Creative Writing Fiction with Dr. Farooz Rather

    • Introductory workshop course in writing fiction.

  • BOS 101 - Beauty, Memories, Noir with Dr. Patrick Sylvain

    • This Boston course will introduce you to Simmons and help you establish a greater sense of home in the city of Boston. In our class, we will explore The Greater Boston Area… The Fenway…We will read some great writing (memoir, novel, poems, and short stories), look at some fantastic art and architecture, and wander around in this carefully constructed (and remarkably beautiful) landscape. Essentially, since this is a rapidly changing city, we will delve into parts of its morphing identity and the struggles that have provided writers a wealth of material to engage our imagination and interests. A part of that engagement will also be done through the Noir genre, where we will be analyzing tragic-heroes.