This spring I will be taking part in the new Honors College SuperStudio, where five advanced undergraduate courses (described below) will collaborate to examine the potentials and challenges of the Green New Deal. The SuperStudio is designed to engage students in transdisciplinary and collaborative work and provide a space where they can develop critical skills and knowledge.

The SuperStudio will consist of the following five courses:

• UH 4504: Environmental Policy and Social Change (20945)
• UH 4504: “Medicare for All!”: Data Analysis for Health Reform (20946)
• UH 4504: “Drone-Age” Innovation for the Public Good (20947)
• UH 4504: The Future of Higher Education (20948)
• UAP 4914: The Future of Employment (19367)

All five courses will meet at the same time and place to facilitate collaboration within and across the classes: Tuesday/Thursday, 2:00 – 3:15, in the Honors College’s new SuperStudio space in Squires Student Center (formerly the Old Dominion Ballroom). Students will have swipe-card access to the studio and dedicated project-development spaces.

In addition to enrolling in one of these five courses, students will also enroll in UH 4984: Honors SuperStudio (20958), a 1-credit corequisite that will meet on Wednesday, 11:15-12:05, to explore connections among their subjects and approaches, interrogate the Green New Deal, and pursue coordinated transdisciplinary responses to its potentials and challenges.

There are no prerequisite courses, but junior standing is required. All honors and honors-eligible students (3.6 GPA or better) are encouraged to participate in the SuperStudio, which we intend to make a vibrant community of practice.

UH 4504: Environmental Policy and Social Change – Dr. Velez

Public policy encompasses not just laws, but regulations, funding priorities, and decision-making in public institutions. In this course, we will study the National Environmental Policy Act to understand policy process; ethics, accountability, and diversity in policy making; and how sectoral differences affect policy decisions.

UH 4504: “Medicare for all!”: Data Analysis for Health Reform – Dr. Lewis

National and global health agencies mine patient data to determine trends in health care and make predictions about health crises. But does that data accurately reflect the health of all citizens? Moreover, does that data suggest how we might pay for universal healthcare as described in the Green New Deal?

UH 4504: “Drone-Age” Innovation for the Public Good – Prof. Banks-Hunt

Drone technology has tremendous potential for social and environmental public good. In this course, we will engage in problem-finding and design thinking for real-world applications of drone technology.

UH 4504: The Future of Higher Education – Dr. Underwood and Prof. Williams

How will higher education change in a world of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and distance education? In light of policies such as the Green New Deal, how will access, affordability, and innovation change learning and higher education?

UAP 4914: Public & Urban Seminar – The Future of Employment – Dr. Hall

In this seminar, we will study the Green New Deal from a variety of perspectives – industrial, academic, governmental, civil, and socio-ecological – paying close attention to how the proposed initiatives might advance or undermine meaningful and well-paid employment in the future.