CPS2015 Political Thought

(Formerly CVA2015)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course addresses the meaning and practice of politics through close readings of a range of political theory approaches, such as anarchist political theory, classic liberalism, civic republicanism, Black Nationalism, queer theory, settler colonial/Indigenous studies, conservatism, and feminist theory. The course will pursue such topics as the politics of confrontation, transformation and change, the role and meaning of citizenship, political community, government, inequality, political resistance, violence, and any other pertinent issues we discern from the work assigned. This is a reading intensive course, and it will also explore political themes that can be drawn out of popular culture, such as films and television shows.

This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring

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

HUM4614 Postmodernism: Future Culture
4 Advanced Liberal Arts (Elective Abroad) CreditsThis course explores postmodern culture as a strange obsession with the future. Thus, we will use the captivating cityscape of Dubai-its unparalleled architecture, its accelerated movement and fragmented spatial organization, the provocative visual design behind its many tourist sites-in order to track crucial ideas of simulation, virtuality, and the spectacle in our postmodern era. Moreover, we will navigate contemporary works of literature, philosophy, film, and architecture while making several excursions into Dubai as a constructed cultural zone of the Middle East. Ultimately, this rare immersion in perhaps the most futuristic place on earth will provide us a dynamic outlook on how postmodern culture blurs the boundaries of reality itself.

Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate liberal arts courses (CVA, LVA, HSS, CSP, LTA in any combination) and admission into the course

WRT4602 Practicum in Peer Consulting and Writing
Advanced Liberal ArtsStudents learn to act as peer consultants in writing and work on improving their own writing, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. They accomplish these objectives by addressing their writing problems; writing extensively; developing criteria to evaluate the writings of others; studying various writing processes and theories of composition; examining pedagogical approaches to teaching writing; reading extensively about, and becoming acquainted with, the dynamics of peer tutoring; and working in the Writing Center as peer consultant trainees.

This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring

Prerequisites: Instructor permission

AQM2000 Predictive Business Analytics

4 Foundation Liberal Arts Credits

This course is only open to students who started Fall 2021 or after

This course introduces students to the foundational ideas of modern data science through a hands-on implementation in modern statistical software. Students will encounter key conceptual ideas like the importance of holdout data, the dangers of overfitting, and the most common performance indicators for various model types through a tour of popular and practical predictive analytics algorithms: linear regression, k-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, classification and regression trees, naive Bayes', and others. In addition to these supervised learning models, students will investigate unsupervised learning models like association rules and clustering, which are designed to uncover structure in data rather than predict a particular target. Throughout the course, students will practice communicating the results of their analyses to a variety of stakeholders.

Prerequisites: AQM1000

SEN1307 Enhance Your Presentation Skills through Forensic Arts

(Senior Instructor: Breeana Blackmon) Poetry Interpretation is a specific type of skill within the speech and debate field of Forensics. In this seminar, students will practice this skill by choosing a short poem to interpret, practice performing, and finally present at the final Senior Seminar Showcase.
In the course, students will first and foremost be challenged to step outside of their comfort zones. Poetry Interpretation will not only boost their confidence, but also greatly strengthen their communication and presentation skills. They will learn how to connect with and captivate a crowd or audience. Also, they will develop valuable leadership skills through critiquing and coaching their peers.

To get a better idea of what Poetry Interpretation looks like and how it relates to speech and debate skills, please visit the following links:

http://www.speechanddebate.org/aspx/video.aspx?id=51
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTErgLIYkc4&index=15&list=PLxwwkVu35jxAcS1U-TMYdail3A3gAQbHz

Course Schedule:
Class 1 - Tuesday, January 27
Class 2 - Tuesday, February 3
Class 3 - Tuesday, February 10
Class 4 - Wednesday, February 18 (as February 17 is a Babson Monday)
Class 5 - Tuesday, February 24
Class 6 - Senior Seminar Showcase: Tuesday evening, 3/3 or Friday afternoon, 3/6. Details to be confirmed by first day of class.

MKT9502 Pricing in the Information Industries
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsPricing as a managerial discipline draws on many domains of knowledge - economics, consumer behavior, marketing, strategy, managerial accounting, law, and so on - and, as customers or as managers, we all have some experience in the taking and/or setting of prices. In this context, offerings of the information (read "content") industries present an interesting challenge since intuition, conventional rules of thumb, traditional models, and plain-vanilla theories do not immutably apply. With this as backdrop, the 1.5-credit "Pricing in the Information Industries" intensive course offering will focus on five topics: (1) pricing principles, (2) pricing and information products, (3) product-line pricing, (4) pricing and bundling, and (5) pricing in the presence of network effects.

Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800 or equivalent core

SME2021 Finance
3 Intermediate Management CreditsSME finance is designed to develop student understanding of the role of finance in the management of a business venture. Effective financial management, whether performed by the general manager in a small business, or by the finance organization in a large corporation, is necessary if a venture is to succeed and grow. A successful financial manager must have skills, abilities, tools, and a theoretical understanding in many areas, including valuation, financial forecasting, capital budgeting, investor expectations regarding risk and return, the cost of investor supplied capital, and financial strategy. Student skills will be developed in all of these areas in the SME finance stream through readings, lectures, class discussions, exercises, and an analytical project. A successful financial manager must also understand the venture's economic environment, its products, services, and market position, its operational capabilities, and its organizational behavior characteristics. The SME finance stream will link financial management analysis and decisions to these other critical functional areas, so the student will understand its part in achieving overall success for the venture.

Prerequisites: ACC1000 and QTM1000

FIN2000 Finance

4 Intermediate Management Credits

FIN 2000 Principles of Finance helps students understand the role of Finance in the management of business ventures and in their daily lives. Effective financial management, whether performed by the general manager in a small business, or by the finance organization in a large corporation, is necessary for ventures to succeed and grow. A successful financial manager must have skills, tools, and perspectives in many areas, including valuation of stocks and bonds, capital budgeting, investment risk and return, the cost of investor-supplied capital, and capital structure. A successful financial manager also must appreciate the key characteristics of a venture - including its products, services, market position, and purpose - and the economic and social environment in which the venture operates. Accordingly, this course links financial analysis and decision-making to critical contextual factors, allowing students to understand the part played by Finance in the overall impact of ventures. Throughout the topic coverage, connections between managerial Finance and personal Finance are recognized and explored, facilitating development of essential financial literacy capabilities. Competency will be developed through readings, lectures, class discussions, and exercises.

Prerequisites: ACC1000 AND AQM1000

ECN2000 Principles of Macroeconomics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsUnderstanding the economy requires knowing what affects key variables such as output, employment, prices, interest rates and exchange rates, how these variables are measured, and how they fluctuate with the national economy over the business cycle. Students in ECN2000 will master these concepts, as well as understand the impact of inflation, deflation, recessions and trade imbalances on the economy. Students will be introduced to social challenges such as poverty and income inequality. They will also gain an introductory understanding of the banking system, money creation and the tools of monetary, fiscal and trade policies used by governments to manage sustainable growth in the context of the international economy.

Prerequisites: None

MKT2000 Principles of Marketing

4 Credits

Marketing is involved with the task of ethically marketing products and services in a global environment. In order to survive in the contemporary business world, organizations have to continually bring new ideas and products/services to the market - think creatively, act entrepreneurially and utilize analytical rigor. The Principles of Marketing course will examine how marketers can recognize and utilize changes in the political, economic, social, and technological environments to identify and target opportunities; how to develop and communicate value propositions; and how to develop successful marketing strategies. These strategies will emphasize market analysis and the Four Ps (product, pricing, place, and promotion). Students will also be introduced to the analytical tools and methods crucial to understanding the role of these variables in achieving marketing goals and reaching performance metrics. This stream will also explore issues associated with: social media, marketing research and marketing analytics, buying behavior, market segmentation, branding, retailing, value-based pricing, advertising, sales, and other marketing topics as they are applied to the management of marketing goods and services. Methods of instruction will include lecture, discussion, experiential (involvement) learning, and integrative teaching.. Methods of assessment will include: quizzes, presentations, exams and participation. The material and the various methods of instructions are guided by Babson's learning goals.

Prerequisites: FME1000