The courses at CTY-Princeton focus on global issues in the twenty-first century. As they examine topics ranging from war to pandemics to national security, students wrestle with many of the major socio-political challenges of our time. For instance, Human Nature and Technology explores various facets of human nature in relation to our reliance on technology in our every day lives while Epidemiology deals with AIDS and other infectious diseases within the context of public health. Although these courses may contain more graphic and controversial content (e.g., R-rated films, vivid accounts of political violence) than found in some school settings, all materials are course relevant, approached from an academic standpoint, and taught with sensitivity to the age of the students and with appropriate guidance and support from instructors. When selecting courses, students should consider their comfort levels with the course's content and major themes. All courses are open to math/science and writing/humanities qualifiers. Please note the prerequisites, and remember that you must attach documentation in order to be placed in the course.
Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM, once said, “Business is a game—the greatest game in the world if you know how to play it.” In today’s global economy and the international political arena, the study of games and strategy continues to be a vital part of the education of historians, economists, and politicians. In this course, students learn how to use principles of probability, statistics, and combinatorics to make strategic decisions based on another party’s actions and reactions. With these tools, students investigate the applications of game theory, learning not only how different strategies helped to define historical events, but also how they are applied today in the fields of economics and politics. Note: Students who have taken CTY’s Probability and Game Theory, Game Theory and Economics, Applied Mathematics: Game Theory, or Advanced Game Theory should not take this course. Prerequisite: At least a “B” in Algebra II. Sample text: Materials compiled by the instructor.
Since 2004, there have been over 200 confirmed cases of avian flu in ten countries. In 2003 over 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV, and in 2005 over 350 million people contracted malaria. Despite almost daily scientific breakthroughs, infectious diseases remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. How are these statistics compiled, and how are they used to combat these diseases? Students in this course investigate the science and politics of disease. From examining the role that epidemiologists play in unlocking the points of origin of pandemics to dissecting the behavior of policymakers as they address AIDS or avian flu, students gain insight into the cause and spread of global diseases, the role of scientists in identifying, controlling, and/or preventing diseases, and the political and ethical implications therein. Moreover, students build a foundation in cell, bacterial, and viral biology as they explore topics including evolutionary biology and pathogenic resistance to drugs While this is a science-based course, it also explores the interplay between society and disease by examining the roles of the arts and the media in highlighting not only issues of global health but also issues of human rights and the stigma associated with infectious diseases. Combining the societal lens with an understanding of the tools scientists use—from statistical analysis to computer modeling to biomedical research—students leave the course with a more complete understanding of how epidemiologists combat diseases in the present and prepare for diseases in the future. Sample texts: Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder; The Coming Plague, Garrett; The Medical Detectives, Roueché. Prerequisite: CTY’s Fast-Paced High School Biology or at least a “B” in first-year high school biology.
This course examines the roles and responsibilities of nations and international organizations (governmental and non-governmental) in the areas of human rights and justice. Focusing on recent cases ranging from Rwanda to Yugoslavia to China to Iraq, students examine such issues as how much independence individual nations should have in defining human rights standards, when a nation’s economic stability should outweigh other global responsibilities, and how nations can heal themselves in the aftermath of atrocities. Students address these and other questions as they are introduced to various statistics on global inequalities and to key theories of justice and their applications in international decision making. By examining case studies, they learn the importance of analyzing world events from a number of different perspectives. In addition, students explore issues such as culture, religion, and technology alongside traditional topics such as history, government, and economics. By addressing the interplay of these variables, students think critically about the complex forces that shape our world. In doing so, they gain a greater understanding of the tangled decisions nations make when balancing sovereign interests and international human rights. Sample text: Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice, Donnelly.
This philosophy course explores the question of human nature—who and what are we?—in light of the extraordinary technological progress of the contemporary era, including new sources of communication, breakthroughs in biotechnology, developments in artificial intelligence and cybernetics, and advancements in modern warfare. Students consider how the human ability to transform our environment by means of culture and technology affects our individual and collective self-understanding, as well as our reflections on the meaning and value of human life. At what point do cybernetic implants transform a person from man to machine? Should online file sharing be legal? In what sense is your online identity “you?” Does online social networking enhance or replace authentic human interaction? What is real and what is virtual? Are technological devices morally neutral tools that we can use in good or bad ways, or are some inherently good—because of their ability to improve human life—or bad—because of their destructive power? Should we pursue technology or try to return to a simpler way of life? Students work together to critically reflect upon these issues, developing the ability to construct and evaluate formal philosophical arguments. Although this is a philosophy course, it is interdisciplinary in scope, and students may be exposed to readings from a wide range of disciplines, including literature, history, and science. As they explore the relationship between human nature and technology, students critique primary philosophical works, participate in discussions and debates, and write analytical essays. Sample Texts: Philosophy of Technology: The Technological Condition: An Anthology, Scharff; Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence, Clarke; On the Internet, Dreyfus.
Almost daily, global media outlets highlight the Middle East. From Iran’s nuclear program to the recent civil protests across the Arab world, the politics of the region have come to play a critical role in international affairs. But how do we define the Middle East? What are shared characteristics of Middle Eastern states? Why have some countries in the region evolved in highly disparate ways?
In this class, students seek to answer these and other questions by placing contemporary Middle Eastern issues in historic, geographic, and social contexts. Students examine broad issues affecting many states in the region, such as colonial and post-colonial history, Arab nationalism, Islam, political economy, and democracy and authoritarianism. Through research, analysis, and current-events readings, students conduct investigations of selected states. With this background, they work to disentangle the underlying assumptions embedded in more contemporary critical issues ranging from the Arab-Israeli conflict to the Arab Spring revolutions.
Students leave the course with an increased awareness of the rich history and politics of the area and the complexities inherent in US and international involvement in the region. Moreover, they develop the critical reading and analytical skills necessary to better make sense of the Middle East today. Sample texts: Politics and Change in the Middle East, Anderson, Seibert, and Wagner; National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East.
As early masterworks like Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (Russia, 1925) and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (Germany, 1927) illustrate, film has always been a key medium for exploring and confronting urgent political and social concerns around the world. By dramatizing important, controversial events and situations, directors place viewers into narrative contexts that allow them to experience people and circumstances that might otherwise remain somewhat remote. This course examines films from different cultures and traditions that deal with some of the most pressing international political issues of our time. From David O. Russell’s deconstruction of American military intervention in the Persian Gulf War in Three Kings (United States, 1999) to Fernando Meirelles’ poignant portrait of abject poverty and the devastation of AIDS in northern Kenya in The Constant Gardener (United Kingdom, 2005), students analyze crucial works of world cinema within the complex historical and political contexts which give rise to such films. Beginning with a classic of political filmmaking such as Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (Algeria, 1967), students learn the language of contemporary film criticism and focus on critical issues such as poverty and violence, the just use of force, imperialism, and oppression based upon race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Students also consider how directors approach political issues from different perspectives and narrative techniques. Students study four to six complete films in depth, and write and revise four formal critical essays. Through intense discussion and analytical writing, students grapple with some of the most prescient issues that our world faces today and gain the foundational skills necessary to successfully engage the ever-increasing complex global society in which we all live. Sample texts: My Battle of Algiers: A Memoir, Morgan; We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rawanda, Gourevitch; A Short Guide to Writing About Film, Corrigan. back to top | 
