English for Academic Purpose (EAP-SHU)

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups. During the semester, you will complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The course is designed to help you acquire skills that also can be transferred to your future professional and personal lives. The thematic, content-based EAP seminar also aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. These course outcomes will be met through engagement with authentic readings and videos on the ways in which the public engages with science and the role of scientists in society. You can expect to enhance your understanding and appreciation of the ways in which the public receives and influences scientific research and discovery. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the ways in which human creativity and innovation affect science, organizations, and society at large. The reasons humans create and innovate will be at the center of the course, as well as the consequences and impacts of creation and innovation. For many organizations, a key challenge is bringing in ”the new” and managing the process of improvement. They need to know whether ideas change incrementally or whether they are prone to more radical improvements, as well as whether or not the generation of new ideas is the result of internal and external influences. Overall, students will consider questions such as the nature and importance of innovation, the processes by which this takes place in the scientific world, and how individuals and organizations cope with change and new demands. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate the concept and framework of smart cities we are now living in and explore how smart cities come to change our lifestyles. Through a five-pronged framework that includes 1) technology, 2) people, 3) institutions, 4) energy, and 5) data management, learners will examine many aspects of smart cities. These will include the way smart cities are conceptualized, core factors for a successful initiative, and the ways in which a smart city promotes life quality via intensive uses of information and communication technologies. Students will be encouraged to link their own living experiences of, for example, transportation (e.g., ride sharing), healthcare (e.g., mobile clinic), education (e.g., online learning), public safety (e.g., body and dashboard cameras), and housing (e.g., Airbnb), with the issues discussed in the course. Connections will be made to real-world examples of smart cities, such as Shanghai, New York City, Dubai, London, etc. Overall, through this course, learners will broaden their understanding of areas of the urban experience central to their lives and develop the tools and skills to critically think about this nexus of ideas. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore how the news media affects our perceptions of the world around us. We are all daily consumers of the news, either through more traditional news outlets or via social media feeds, and this consumption has far-reaching effects on our local and global societies. We will consider what is news and newsworthy and how information is created and manipulated in our modern world. We will debate the “truthfulness” of various news sources, read academic criticism of the world of reporting, and draw our own conclusions on how we interpret the news. As you engage with this content individually and in small groups, you will develop the academic literacy required for the university setting. It is recognized that these skills can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives. Overall, through this course, learners will broaden their understanding of the news media and develop the tools and skills to critically think about this from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate topics such as what makes a particular incident funny, why we laugh at some remarks but not others, what is happening in the brain when we laugh, and whether or not there a way to predict what people will find comical. Attempts to answer these surprisingly complex questions have given rise to the rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field of humor studies. We will test various theories of humor to see how well they hold up; take a close look at different genres of humor such as jokes, puns, teasing, irony, parody, dark humor, visual humor, and the absurd; explore the cognitive and social processes involved in the perception and production of humor; try to understand when and why humor does or does not translate well across cultures; study some applications of humor in advertising, education, medicine, business management, and other fields; and consider which factors can render humor ineffective, unintentional, or unethical. Overall, through this course, students will examine the major findings of humor research to date and investigate some of the many mysteries that remain. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore learning and the contexts in which learners are situated as they strive to get an education. A closer look at learning theories and motivation will be the perfect starting point for the semester-long experiential learning project which requires students to engage with a local learning organization, Stepping Stones, both as volunteer English teachers and observers. Students in the course will be presented with a variety of videos and short excerpts of readings on learners, learning, and education in order both to help them become better learners themselves and to evaluate the learning experiences of others. Moreover, they will have a chance to become volunteer teachers themselves, applying what they learn to design learning experiences for others. This will require a time commitment of at least 10 hours of teaching or the observation of teaching over the semester. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the concept of utopia, or the perfect society, using historical examples. We will examine these attempts, most of which failed, to create the perfect society through the lens of sociological theory. We will consider how societies are initially conceived by their creators, and the factors that determine a society’s success. In order to compare our findings to present-day societies, we will also be engaging with and analyzing the not-for-profit and charity organizations operating in Shanghai today. Through this experience outside the walls of the university, you will consider further how societies can work toward equity among its citizens. A major component of this course will be a group project that will ask you to design a utopia based on ideas addressed in class. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the techniques of the positive psychology movement. When asked what they want most in life, a majority of people answer, “To be happy.” But what, exactly, is happiness: a mood, a predisposition, a judgement? Is contentment a condition we can actively bring about through specific habits and practices? Yes, claim the advocates of positive psychology, with ample research to support their conclusions. In this class, we will try out some of their recommended strategies and document the results. We will also examine the growing body of criticism that questions the presuppositions of this relatively young discipline. Is a sense of well-being really something that can or should be deliberately engineered? Are there more meaningful and fulfilling long-term goals than feeling cheerful and satisfied? What are some of the unintended consequences of treating happiness as an end-state, character virtue, or public policy objective, and whose interests are being served when we blame our distress and alienation on our own private personality flaws? Let’s take a close look at the “science behind the smile” and see what we can learn from its successes and shortcomings. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. In this course, you will engage with content relevant to fashion and fashion industry individually and in groups, completing a variety of communicative tasks and an experimental learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate the complex world of fashion. Fashion is everywhere. It is one of the main ways in which we present ourselves to others, signaling what we want to communicate about our cultural and subcultural allegiances, our mood and thinking, professionalism, and even wealth, sexuality, and political allegiances. It is also a global industry with huge economic, cultural, and political impact on the lives of all of us who make, sell, wear or even just watch fashion. The aim throughout is to present a comprehensive but also accessible and provocative analysis on many different aspects of fashion. These include, for example, the major events in the history of fashion, how arts and popular culture influence fashion and how fashion shapes global culture and arts, how clothes mean different things in different parts of the world, the links between media promotion and mainstream fashion retail, the power of cosmetics, the rise of celebrity branding, the cult of thinness, and age, gender and national factors in fashion consumptions. Through studying authentic lectures, participating in the discussions, and conducting the project around these topics, you will acquire academic skills that can be transferred to your future professional and personal lives and develop interest in issues that cross disciplines. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate Artificial Intelligence (AI); its origins, types and applications together with its current and future impact on humanity. The course will be divided into 5 modules addressing education, work, health, the media and the future implications of a digitized planet. Students will also conduct research into the specific ways in which AI is changing the nature of society and the associated ethical implications. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. The pervasiveness of our ever-changing media and communication landscapes offer both innovation and complication for the content and interpretation of our messages. Using the framework of the “public sphere”, virtual realms of social life where society’s problems are open for discussion, we will consider how various digital platforms (news feeds, blogs, chat groups, social media platforms, etc.) control our worldview and influence our evolving selves. Additionally, we will examine how distinctive identities (gender, social class, race, nationality, sexuality) are formed, developed, and expressed via networks (online and in person). Across the semester, you will conduct an investigation of how the concepts of identity (personal) and community (collective) are integrated into the digitally mediated culture. After being introduced to rhetorical theories and concepts, you will be asked to apply them to the analysis and exploration of a variety of online platforms, technologies, and communities. Overall, through this course, learners will gain a better understanding of the power of mass digital communication and how to use it while navigating through various networks. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. We will inquire into the multidimensional aspects of sustainable development, focusing on the tools, metrics and practical pathways the world is currently exploring. In addition, we will investigate various success indicators for sustainable development. (Un)Sustainability views sustainable development solutions in the context of a range of subfields in addition to sustainability itself, including climate change and political action, and will afford learners the opportunity to carry out a team-based project in relation to the issues posed by this rich interdisciplinary terrain. This course encourages you to consider your role as a responsible 21st century global citizen and promotes analytical and reflective thinking on this role as it relates to global sustainability, including the United Nations¿ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set in 2015. The SDG¿s are a collection of 17 global goals covering social and economic development issues including poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender, equality, water, sanitation, energy, urbanization, environment and social justice. Through active participation in educational programs and experiential learning, students will increase their knowledge and understanding of the societal issues that EAP 100 strives to address. Therefore, this course includes a 4-5 hour integrated volunteering experience within the local non-profit community and 2-hours of attendance at an NYUSH student club community engagement event. EAP 100 works closely with the Shanghai Service Corp and NYUSH student clubs to provide a variety of charities and community groups to join. The Service Corps provides needed support to nonprofit agencies serving the environment, at-risk youth, and underserved communities for youth and the elderly. Student clubs and organizations are driven by student leaders pursuing personal and professional passions, polishing transferable skills, and promoting learning, diversity, and community. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups. In the fall semester, you will complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and the planning and preparation for an experiential learning project that will be carried out in the spring semester. The course is designed to help you acquire skills that also can be transferred to your future professional and personal lives. The thematic, content-based EAP seminar also aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. These course outcomes will be met through engagement with authentic readings and videos on the ways in which the public engages with science and the role of scientists in society. You can expect to enhance your understanding and appreciation of the ways in which the public receives and influences scientific research and discovery. The spring semester will be a continuation of this theme and with further development of language, communication, and critical thinking goals. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the ways in which human creativity and innovation affect science, organizations, and society at large. The reasons humans create and innovate will be at the center of the course, as well as the consequences and impacts of creation and innovation. For many organizations, a key challenge is bringing in ”the new” and managing the process of improvement. They need to know whether ideas change incrementally or whether they are prone to more radical improvements, as well as whether or not the generation of new ideas is the result of internal and external influences. Overall, students will consider questions such as the nature and importance of innovation, the processes by which this takes place in the scientific world, and how individuals and organizations cope with change and new demands. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore contemporary issues in global public health through a central theme of ‘the greater good’, a concern for the collective, in issues such as climate change, food security, and population control. It is easy for such challenges to remain abstract, and to imagine teams of experts in far-away places working to address them, and this distance tends to blur the role of the individual. We will examine the tension between individual choice and collective good, between local action and global impact, which runs through a number of global public health topics and manifests across the world in different ways. Additionally, the course will ask you to view these topics with a critical eye through an interdisciplinary lens, applying insights from environmental science, public policy, business, and health. Overall, learners will consider questions such as who stands to benefit from global health policies and initiatives, what is at stake in specific global health issues, and how such issues are being explored globally and locally, just beyond the walls of the classroom in Shanghai. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore contemporary issues in global public health through a central theme of ‘the greater good’, a concern for the collective, in issues such as climate change, food security, and population control. It is easy for such challenges to remain abstract, and to imagine teams of experts in far-away places working to address them, and this distance tends to blur the role of the individual. We will examine the tension between individual choice and collective good, between local action and global impact, which runs through a number of global public health topics and manifests across the world in different ways. Additionally, the course will ask you to view these topics with a critical eye through an interdisciplinary lens, applying insights from environmental science, public policy, business, and health. Overall, learners will consider questions such as who stands to benefit from global health policies and initiatives, what is at stake in specific global health issues, and how such issues are being explored globally and locally, just beyond the walls of the classroom in Shanghai. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate the world of money and the ideas and practices of the global financial system. Using a daily financial column, as well as other videos, talks, lectures, podcasts, and readings, we will examine what money is and explore current issues in the financial world. Specifically, this course will investigate the historical uses and roles of money in a macro sense; the roles technology has played and will play in the financial world; and what the roles and purposes of the financial sector are, and how we evaluate and regulate what it does and how it affects our world. Concurrent with our study of the hows and whys of finance, we will also critically address moral and ethical issues around global finance, and how it affects the people and societies of the world. Overall, through this course, learners will broaden their understanding of finance and develop the tools and skills to critically think about and evaluate money stuff in the world. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. This course will be a discussion-based seminar. As such, you will be required to read and prepare for class in advance—with the intention to actively listen and participate in group and class discussions. You should be prepared to think critically about the topics by applying, critiquing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. In addition, you will be conducting a project outside of class that is designed to foster engagement with the larger Shanghai community. The course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, in this course, we shall examine a relatively new area of scientific inquiry: friendship. Neglected in favor of studies of familial relationships and sexual relationships, scientists are now looking to better define and explore the science of friendship. During the recent global pandemic and social distancing efforts, the psychological and physical effects of loneliness—perhaps the opposite of friendship—have been felt worldwide further highlighting the importance of understanding the connection between friendship and our overall well-being. Technology such as WeChat, Zoom, and FaceTime has allowed us to stay connected, but has also altered the definition and structure of friendship. This course will be truly interdisciplinary in nature examining friendship through the lenses of biology, sociology, and psychology, as well as looking at the impact of technology on how we define and perform friendship. You will be asked to take the role of a scientist examining your personal connections and the environment around you to collect data, explore the elements that determine who you are friends with and why, and, hopefully, to create stronger, more rewarding social bonds. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative and reflective tasks, and an experiential learning project beyond the walls of the university. The course is designed to help you acquire skills that can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. The “self” is a natural place to begin. The problem is that this is all-too-often simply taken for granted. What are selves? Are we what we say we are? But what about the way we appear to others? An important constraint on what we may become is our membership in various communities. You will be presented with a variety of sources that may include video, audio, readings, and advertising materials in order to assist you in forming and formulating your views about the process of negotiation between self and other in culture and society. Some of the subthemes that will be discussed will be self-concept and identity construction, culture and sub-culture, minority groups, gender identity, and material and consumer identities. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, through game-play and observation assignments, we will consider how games can operate as tools of propaganda or social-critique and how these social issues affect the players. Contrary to public opinion, it is not just “all fun and games.” Whether table-top, deck-building, MMORPG, mobile or on the playground in the school-yard, most games tell a narrative story. That narrative is a product of a real-world society. The beliefs, values, stereotypes, politics, and histories of each play out in the “Magic Circle” and are often used to drive the narrative of the story. You will be asked to think critically about the narratives created in some of your favorite games and others you’ve never played before. Designed with novice players in mind and structured as a game, you must complete each level of the course project to beat the final boss. Are you ready to play? Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate food; its production and consumption and the challenges of feeding a growing global population. The course will be divided into 5 modules addressing food security, sustainability and waste as well as the politics of food and what the future might hold in terms of diet. Students will also conduct research into the factors that influence both our current food choices and those of the future. Prerequisite: None.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the complex world of rules, laws, governments, and economic standards. The rules to this game we call life. There are rules. As humans, we made most of them. And we tend to like our artificial constraints too. In fact, we have continuously chosen organization, structure and predictability over chaos. But these systems are manufactured, and as such, they exist in a paradox of both strength and fragility. A country’s currency, for example, has value unless its government begins to fail. Laws are respected until they’re not. And businesses have worth until people believe they don’t anymore. Given such dynamics, how are governments, as well as businesses, able to exist and function effectively? And how are so few people able to wield control over so many others? This course will examine such phenomena among societies, governments, businesses, as well as those on the receiving end of such controlling powers. Prerequisite: None.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Through topics such as machine learning, genetic technologies, and autonomous robots, this course investigates ethical concerns associated with emerging scientific and technological innovations. Students will examine differing perspectives on potential human and planetary impacts, the role of scientists and technologists in society, and what role morality and ethics play in creating our shared techno-future. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. What is a crime? This course will analyze the qualities of and relationship between criminality, discipline, and forgiveness through an assortment of cultural lenses. A wide range of human behavior across history has crossed the line between acceptable and intolerable and back as related to a variety of factors. By recognizing that the concept of illegal behavior shifts, expands, and retracts with time and across societies, students will explore how individuals, communities, and institutions perceive and react to various offenses and offenders. In this seminar-centered course, students will select relevant case studies to extend the discourse by examining reactions to crime and criminal behavior across select historical and social timelines for contrast, comparison, and critique. Across the semester, students will conduct investigations of how we, as a society, judge, punish, and forgive select categories of crimes and criminals. This course also includes analyses of contemporary issues regarding criminal justice reform, recidivism, and crime-related public policy. The ethics and implementation of punishment, forgiveness, restitution and reconciliation will be reviewed and contextualized to offer students a complete picture of the function and flaws of observed justice. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course is designed to give students an appreciation of the rise of online video and its implications (both positive and negative) on society at large. Through a mixture of prepared academic lectures and readings, plus a healthy dose of online video media students will watch and analyze, the course will examine the characteristics and features of this media that make it different from other video and also explain its ability to speak to so many people in different ways. Furthermore, the course will use design theories and practical advice from actual online videographers to help students gain an elementary understanding of the successful production techniques necessary for this media. Students will hopefully walk away from the course with the necessary skills to be successful at NYU and both a critical eye of online video and ideas and some practices on how to best communicate in this media. (Tentative description) Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. In this course, you will be given the opportunity to ‘master the skills of cross-cultural effectiveness,’ a central part of the mission of NYU-Shanghai. These are perhaps the most important goals that you can set for yourselves in today’s global world where people from disparate cultures must come together to solve the big problems of the age. In order to become effective in communicating across cultural boundaries, one must first ‘know thyself’ and the way that cultural self is perceived by others. Just as a fish in water is not aware of the water, it is difficult to see the always shifting cultural contexts in which global citizens “swim.” You will increase your ability to recognize ‘intercultural variables’ and disparate ‘communication styles,’ conceptualize and practice intercultural communication and etiquette that is both verbal and non-verbal, and question assumptions you have about communication and culture. You will also be prompted to develop your own set of intercultural values in light of what you have learned. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this EAP seminar is a short survey of pre-rock and rock history that explores the main eras and key events in rock and pre-rock history mainly within 20th and 21st century United States. Traditional African music and nineteenth century American music, jazz, blues, country music, rock and roll, hip-hop, electronic music, punk, metal and modern-day hits will be investigated with a focus on the social and historical elements involved. Other themes include politics, economics, technology, race and ethnicity as they relate to the songs we discover. We will also review live concerts and rate air guitar championships. Are you ready to rock? Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the relationship between humans and non-human species from a sociological viewpoint. Topics include: the history of animal-human relations; the moral status of animals; how gender, class, and race-ethnicity impact our dealings with animals; zoos and shelters; the relationship between violence toward animals and toward people; animal rights movements; animal therapy; and the question of whether animals are part of society. In order to contextualize these ideas, students will engage in a research project that involves interviewing an expert on one of these topics. Through this experience outside the walls of the university, you will consider further these questions surrounding animals and humans. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Students in this course will examine the categories and boundaries humans create to define, understand, identify with, and separate one another. Specifically, the course invites student inquiries into different types of borders and boundaries, what purpose each serves, and how these borders are crossed. The exploration of physical and geographical borders will include topics such as migration, displacement, and refugee resettlement. From a metaphorical perspective, seminar discussions of linguistic, social, and cultural ‘borderlands’, and how these categories intersect, will offer students a chance to critically engage with contemporary issues and questions. An overarching aim is to interrogate the use of borders and similar metaphors in understanding human relationships. Through independent research and an interview project, students will explore a topic related to the course theme, coming to understand how borders function within and beyond the walls of NYU-Shanghai. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the ways in which cultures and subcultures define themselves, are defined by others, and the cultural overlapping that exists among them--for better or worse? This course provides a cross-examination of culture itself, interweaving aspects of anthropology, politics, history and sociology in its attempt to deconstruct traditional paradigms. Students will critically examine various histories and perspectives in search of greater clarity and ‘truths’ as they challenge their own preconceptions and assumptions. This course ultimately aims to effect greater awareness, tolerance, and insight to students as they engage with our complex, yet interconnected human world from the inside out, and from the past, forward. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate the concept and framework of smart cities we are now living in and explore how smart cities come to change our lifestyles. Through a five-pronged framework that includes 1) technology, 2) people, 3) institutions, 4) energy, and 5) data management, learners will examine many aspects of smart cities. These will include the way smart cities are conceptualized, core factors for a successful initiative, and the ways in which a smart city promotes life quality via intensive uses of information and communication technologies. Students will be encouraged to link their own living experiences of, for example, transportation (e.g., ride sharing), healthcare (e.g., mobile clinic), education (e.g., online learning), public safety (e.g., body and dashboard cameras), and housing (e.g., Airbnb), with the issues discussed in the course. Connections will be made to real-world examples of smart cities, such as Shanghai, New York City, Dubai, London, etc. Overall, through this course, learners will broaden their understanding of areas of the urban experience central to their lives and develop the tools and skills to critically think about this nexus of ideas. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore how the news media affects our perceptions of the world around us. We are all daily consumers of the news, either through more traditional news outlets or via social media feeds, and this consumption has far-reaching effects on our local and global societies. We will consider what is news and newsworthy and how information is created and manipulated in our modern world. We will debate the “truthfulness” of various news sources, read academic criticism of the world of reporting, and draw our own conclusions on how we interpret the news. As you engage with this content individually and in small groups, you will develop the academic literacy required for the university setting. It is recognized that these skills can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives. Overall, through this course, learners will broaden their understanding of the news media and develop the tools and skills to critically think about this from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This 101-level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you continue to develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. At the 101 level students are encouraged to gain control over facilitation of group discussions as well as the other academic communicative skills introduced at the 100-level. These academic skills can also be transferred to future professional and personal endeavors. As in the 100-level course, the thematic, content-based EAP seminar, aims to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate topics such as what makes a particular incident funny, why we laugh at some remarks but not others, what is happening in the brain when we laugh, and whether or not there a way to predict what people will find comical. Attempts to answer these surprisingly complex questions have given rise to the rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field of humor studies. We will test various theories of humor to see how well they hold up; take a close look at different genres of humor such as jokes, puns, teasing, irony, parody, dark humor, visual humor, and the absurd; explore the cognitive and social processes involved in the perception and production of humor; try to understand when and why humor does or does not translate well across cultures; study some applications of humor in advertising, education, medicine, business management, and other fields; and consider which factors can render humor ineffective, unintentional, or unethical. Overall, through this course, students will examine the major findings of humor research to date and investigate some of the many mysteries that remain. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will investigate Artificial Intelligence (AI); its origins, types and applications together with its current and future impact on humanity. The course will be divided into 5 modules addressing education, work, health, the media and the future implications of a digitized planet. Students will also conduct research into the specific ways in which AI is changing the nature of society and the associated ethical implications. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore the ways in which human creativity and innovation affect science, organizations, and society at large. The reasons humans create and innovate will be at the center of the course, as well as the consequences and impacts of creation and innovation. For many organizations, a key challenge is bringing in ”the new” and managing the process of improvement. They need to know whether ideas change incrementally or whether they are prone to more radical improvements, as well as whether or not the generation of new ideas is the result of internal and external influences. Overall, students will consider questions such as the nature and importance of innovation, the processes by which this takes place in the scientific world, and how individuals and organizations cope with change and new demands. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. The courses are designed to help you acquire skills that can also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, this course will explore contemporary issues in global public health through a central theme of ‘the greater good’, a concern for the collective, in issues such as climate change, food security, and population control. It is easy for such challenges to remain abstract, and to imagine teams of experts in far-away places working to address them, and this distance tends to blur the role of the individual. We will examine the tension between individual choice and collective good, between local action and global impact, which runs through a number of global public health topics and manifests across the world in different ways. Additionally, the course will ask you to view these topics with a critical eye through an interdisciplinary lens, applying insights from environmental science, public policy, business, and health. Overall, learners will consider questions such as who stands to benefit from global health policies and initiatives, what is at stake in specific global health issues, and how such issues are being explored globally and locally, just beyond the walls of the classroom in Shanghai. Prerequisite: Special for freshman students enrolled in Foundation of Science. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. This course will be a discussion-based seminar. As such, you will be required to read and prepare for class in advance—with the intention to actively listen and participate in group and class discussions. You should be prepared to think critically about the topics by applying, critiquing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. In addition, you will be conducting a project outside of class that is designed to foster engagement with the larger Shanghai community. The course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Specifically, in this course, we shall examine a relatively new area of scientific inquiry: friendship. Neglected in favor of studies of familial relationships and sexual relationships, scientists are now looking to better define and explore the science of friendship. During the recent global pandemic and social distancing efforts, the psychological and physical effects of loneliness—perhaps the opposite of friendship—have been felt worldwide further highlighting the importance of understanding the connection between friendship and our overall well-being. Technology such as WeChat, Zoom, and FaceTime has allowed us to stay connected, but has also altered the definition and structure of friendship. This course will be truly interdisciplinary in nature examining friendship through the lenses of biology, sociology, and psychology, as well as looking at the impact of technology on how we define and perform friendship. You will be asked to take the role of a scientist examining your personal connections and the environment around you to collect data, explore the elements that determine who you are friends with and why, and, hopefully, to create stronger, more rewarding social bonds. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

The freshman English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is designed to help you develop the high-level language, communication, and critical thinking skills you need to be successful in an English-speaking university. While the primary emphasis is on speaking and listening, you will also practice reading and writing. You will engage with content individually and in groups, complete a variety of communicative tasks, reflective writing assignments, and an experiential learning project outside the walls of the university. This course is designed to help you acquire skills that can be also be transferred to your future professional and personal lives, and to help you cultivate an interest in issues that cross disciplines, an important part of a well-rounded, liberal arts education. The “self” is a natural place to begin. The problem is that this is all-too-often simply taken for granted. What are selves? Are we what we say we are? But what about the way we appear to others? An important constraint on what we may become is our membership in various communities. Students will be presented with a variety of texts (written and visual, including video, audio clips, and possibly print advertising) in order to assist them in forming their opinions about the process of negotiation between self and other in society. Moreover, the concept of ‘negotiation’ itself will be highlighted and explored in this context. Some of the subthemes that will be discussed will be self-concept and identity construction, culture and sub-culture, treatment of minority groups, gender identity, and material and consumer identities. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core Language requirement.

This course is designed to take your public speaking skills to the next level. The course aims to deliver students a tool kit for engaging and effective presentations, design principles for visual aids, and space to critically assess and reflect on public speaking and other’s presentations. Close-readings of exemplar model talks and a peer-feedback workshop approach will help students develop top-notch public talks. The course will prepare students to give both common academic presentations, like case-studies and research-based presentations, as well as other speech types, like a pitch and a TED talk. Students will work on speaking events both long and short, and prepared and extemporaneous. The course will culminate with a public presentation of polished and revised talks from the course. Prerequisite: EAP101 or exemption from EAP101

This is a comprehensive course designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively navigate the digital world and evaluate information with a critical eye. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students will learn how to identify credible sources, recognize fake news, and effectively communicate information in the age of social media. By the end of the course, students will be well-versed in media information literacy and able to use these skills in their personal and professional lives. Prerequisite: EAP101 or exemption from EAP101