QTM2600 Linear Algebra

4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Linear Algebra provides the mathematical background for modern applications in statistics and data science. In this course we study linear algebra beginning with the classic but still essential application of solving systems of linear equations. We use this as an entry to think of the properties of high dimensional spaces, and the relationships between those spaces. Students will learn how to compute with matrices and see their application to diverse areas such as cryptography, image recognition, page rank in computer searches and establishing fair ranking and voting systems.

Prerequisites: AQM2000

LTA2050 LIT & VIS ART INTRM

4 Credits

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

LVA2050 LIT & VIS ART INTRM

4 Credits

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

LIT4620 Literature and Philosophy of Madness
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course engages the question of madness from a variety of angles. On the one hand, it considers the major theorists of insanity (Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze); and on the other, it considers the equally crucial works of supposedly "insane" writers themselves (Antonin Artaud, Unica Zurn, Vaslav Nijinsky). In doing so, we will trouble the many definitions and assumptions surrounding the category of madness and its problematic history of oppression. Ultimately, through this remarkable exchange across literary-philosophical frontiers, we will explore an immense world of visions and symptoms, including those of mania, schizophrenia, delusion, paranoia, melancholia, and obsession.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

LVA2446 Joy, Beauty, Justice: Literature of the Black Atlantic
Intermediate Liberal Arts_The Black Atlantic_ is a term used to describe the deep cultural and artistic connections among people of African descent relocated by the slave trade throughout the Americas and Europe. While it often evokes the horrors of the Middle Passage, slavery, and ongoing racist legacies, literature produced by African peoples in Africa, Europe, and the Americas also constitutes an archive of strength, resistance, and even joy in the face of injustice and oppression. We will read literature from the Black Atlantic with this transformative potential in mind. Beginning with the slave narrative, the course will sample literary production from the three continents, noting shared formal and imaginative characteristics, and ending with the most vibrant work by contemporary literary artists of the African diaspora.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1000 or RHT1000)

LTA2074 Literature of Witness
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe film Ararat, by Atom Egoyan, contains testimony from a woman who has witnessed a massacre of young brides. She asks, "Now that I have seen this event, how shall I dig out these eyes of mine?"

This woman occupies the most direct position-the eyewitness-in relation to an extreme event; however, the question of witnessing also extends to all of us who encounter images and stories of atrocities in our everyday lives. We will trace the concept of witnessing in philosophical, legal, and human rights contexts before turning to novels and other literature of witness by international writers such as Pat Barker, Nadine Gordimer, Gunter Grass, Primo Levi, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Rigoberta Menchu, Toni Morrison, and Virginia Woolf in order to investigate the following questions: What kinds of events generate or require witnesses, and how does witnessing differ from simply seeing? What effects does the event have upon the witness, and vice versa? What does it mean for literature to act as a kind of witness? How can literature ethically represent or "witness" extreme events? What responsibilities do we have to serve as witnesses to extreme global events, and what do we do with the energy created by our witnessing of such events?

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

LTA2029 Literatures of Empire and Beyond
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsEmpires have been built and toppled all over the world since the beginning of recorded history, and literature has served both in the building and in the toppling. This course begins by examining 19th century imperialism with a focus on European colonization of territories in Africa and South Asia; moves through the nationalist movements that arguably brought political but not economic independence or prosperity to these places; and concludes by examining the shape of the global landscape today with its "remote control" empires that work through markets and information channels rather than territory and raw resources. We will explore these great geopolitical shifts by studying literature and film from European, African, and South Asian perspectives that can reveal the many perspectives on the impacts of cultural, political, and economic contact through imperialism.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

LTA2004 Love, Sex and the Family in Mid-Twentieth-Century American Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits_First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage_. This childhood ditty seems to inculcate the _right_ order of things in the act of family-making in America. But lives played out in times of cultural transition aren't always as neat as nursery rhymes. Mid-twentieth-century America was characterized by changing gender roles and definitions, geographic and demographic shifts, war, and burgeoning technology, among other things. This course looks at fiction and drama to see how great American authors such as Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor and Richard Yates portrayed and, perhaps, shaped the mid-century American understanding of love, sex, and family. We will supplement literary readings with relevant non-fiction from the time period. Students will propose, research, and develop a major essay about an author and/or a concept related to the course materials. Students will also formally present their ideas to the class.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

EPS7530 M & A for Entrepreneurs
3 CreditsThis course focuses on the strategies and processes entrepreneurs and business leaders employ in various types of middle market acquisitions and divestitures (leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, etc.). Its content is applicable for students pursuing either entrepreneurial opportunities or corporate positions where they may be called upon to acquire or divest a division or product line or company. Although this course is mainly at a strategic level, a basic knowledge of accounting and finance is required to understand valuation, income statements, cash flow and balance sheet issues. Students would benefit from taking Entrepreneurial Finance, Private Equity (or Investment Banking) before enrolling in this course. A good deal of the work required in this course will be done through student learning groups.

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of accounting and finance will be helpful in understanding valuation, income statements and balance sheet issues

QTM6300 Machine Learning for Business
(Formerly Data Exploration and Analytics)
3 Blended CreditsThis course will examine the methods and challenges faced in turning data into insightful analytics in business. With data sizes significantly increasing in the last decade, extracting meaningful information to compete successfully is essential. You will accomplish this by learning techniques for data gathering, data analysis, and visualization as well as in discussion on companies currently trying to turn the information they gather into business opportunities. We will learn a variety of methods and software for finding patterns(such as regression, neural networks, association rules, CART, forecasting etc.), building models, and ultimately making decisions using large data sets. Guest speakers who are executives and consultants in the field of analytics and visualization will discuss how they address these challenges in their companies. This is a hands-on course with in-class exercises and group projects to help students learn and apply data analysis techniques preparing them for the practical challenges analysts face in the real world. We will address questions such as:

- How does Amazon recommend products based on your past purchases?
- How to forecast energy consumption based on historical weather and consumption data?
- How do credit-card companies detect fraud?
- What challenges does Big Data pose to companies and how to handle these challenges?