POL4601 Africa Rising?
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This interdisciplinary course on contemporary Africa examines political, economic and social developments in the context of the now common mantra "Africa Rising." It takes a historical look at Africa's relations with global development actors and how these have impacted individual states and the entire continent. It includes a comparative analysis of Africa's partnership(s) with the different regions of the world (broadly categorized into East and West, Global South and Global North) and time spans (broadly grouped into colonial and post-colonial). It also examines processes, actors, events and partnerships within independent Africa and how they have contributed to the present state of the continent, which observers have described as rising. The course interrogates this observation. How truly is "Africa rising"? What is the cost of the rise? What does it mean for individuals, states and the entire continent? Why/how does it matter? The course focuses on these (and other important) questions, considering examples from various sectors, events, countries, bilateral and multilateral arrangements with African states and in relation to the rest of the world. It uses a variety of materials including texts, news and journal articles, as well as electronic and internet-based resources.


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

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: POL4601
  • Number of Credits: 4

LTA2010 African American Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This course will introduce students to the African American literary tradition starting with the slave narrative and concluding with contemporary literary production. Along the way, we will consider the move from oral to written literatures, the aesthetic forms created and adapted by African American writers, and the role of African American letters in chronicling and shaping the experience of African American people. Our study will be informed by major historical moments -slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Migration from south to north, the Civil Rights and post-Civil rights eras-and we will read work by writers such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Nella Larsen, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison.

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

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Arts and Humanities
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LTA2010
  • Number of Credits: 4

HSS2032 African American History and Foodways
4 Intermediate L
iberal ArtsAfrican History and Foodways will cover the major subjects, movements, and events that have shaped Africa since the 1400s. These include African crops and animals, African political institutions and wars, gender, the spread of Islam, slavery, European colonization, and African independence movements. One learns how to publish a blog and create podcast episodes with show notes. Deliverables, regular contributions to class discussions, public speaking, research, and group work are essential course components. Cooking is a part of live classes.

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

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: History and Society
  • Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: HSS2032
  • Number of Credits: 4

OIM3565 Agile Experimentation
(Formerly MIS3565)
4 Advanced Management Credits

**Students who took this as MIS3565 cannot take this course**

Business leaders and entrepreneurs should be Agile digital experimenters, capable of innovating by combining available technologies and services into digital experiences. In this course, students will learn about Agile digital entrepreneurship and follow an Agile methodology to conceive and create an internet of things (IoT) solution with a clear value proposition.


Agile Experimentation (AgileEx) is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable innovations combining hardware and software elements. The course involves:
- Practicing Agile project management methodologies and software, and learning how to scale Agile environments from small startups to large organizations
- Designing and building IoT devices with sensors and actuators, and programming hardware (i.e., Arduino microcontrollers)
- Designing digital interfaces (e.g., interactions, app mockups, information flows) with software tools
- Running experiments and surveying customers to test hypotheses and improve the prototype
- Building an innovation that is a feasible and responsible market solution
- Presenting your work in a final pitch that showcases your prototype and its market viability
- Learning about emerging technologies


The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments, and can participate in the development of innovative and responsible technological solutions.

Prerequisites: SME2012

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Operations and Information Management
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: OIM3565
  • Number of Credits: 4

OIM7525 Agile Experimentation
(Formerly MIS7535)
1.5 Elective Credits

If you took and passed MIS7525, you cannot register for OIM7525, as these two courses are equivalent

Agile Experimentation (AgileEx) is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable Internet of Things (IoT) innovations combining hardware and software components. The course involves:


- Practicing Agile/SCRUM project management methodologies and software, and learning how to scale Agile environments from small startups to large organizations
- Designing and building IoT (or wearable) devices with sensors and actuators, and programming hardware (i.e., Arduino boards)
- Designing digital interfaces and processes (e.g., app mockups, process diagrams) with software tools
- Running experiments and surveying customers to test hypotheses and iterate in the development of a prototype
- Building an innovation with a clear value proposition
- Learning about emerging technologies
- Presenting your work in a final pitch that showcases your prototype and its market viability

The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments, and can participate in the development of innovative technological solutions that integrate hardware and software components.

The course does not require programming, Agile, or software/hardware prototyping experience.

Prerequisites: None

  • Program: Graduate
  • Division: Operations and Information Management
  • Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
  • Course Number: OIM7525
  • Number of Credits: 1.5

FIN4545 Alternative Investments

4 Advanced Management Credits

This course provides an overview of alternative investments along with several non-traditional investment strategies. It is intended not only for finance and investment professionals, but also for those with an entrepreneurial and disruptor spirit. The course begins with a brief review of traditional investments of publicly traded stocks and bonds along with their limitations and imperfections. Students will then consider alternative investment vehicles such as private equity, venture capital, commodities, income producing real properties, licensing and royalty rights, cryptocurrencies, and social impact investing. We will also consider the move toward ESG investments (environment, social and governance) and their emphasized role in the alternative sphere. Students will analyze case studies involving The Endowment Model for Investing, Fund of Funds, Peer-to-Peer Lending, and Social Impact Investing, culminating in a team based capstone project. The course materials will challenge students to recognize investment anomalies that the marketplace has not recognized. The course will also provide an overview of the material for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Program (CAIA) professional certification. Students will develop a robust knowledge base for careers in portfolio management, investment product development, compliance, consulting, and risk management.

Prerequisites: SME 2021 or FIN2000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Finance
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: FIN4545
  • Number of Credits: 4

LIT4661 American Autobiography
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Autobiography, always popular, has reached new heights of acclaim in recent years - especially in the United States. Why do readers find it so attractive? Sensationalist, exhibitionist, self-serving, revelatory, probing: while it can be all of this and more, autobiography as a literary genre has its roots in a person's desire for expression and meaning. As its writers explain themselves to the world, they explain the world to themselves, imposing on it their views and causes. Autobiography can demonstrate how history is made in words, not found; how people make sense of their own lives. Reading a cross-section of such works written by authors living in what is now the United States compels us to question simplistic notions of what _America_ stands for, and to rediscover its promises and its meanings in its variety and conflict.

This is an upper-level liberal arts course. Readings range from Benjamin Franklin to the present.

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

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Arts and Humanities
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LIT4661
  • Number of Credits: 4

LIT4608 American Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course is a deep dive into literary works representing three major movements in American literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. Romanticism is thematically concerned with nature and the common man, the frontier and immigration. Our study may include Thoreau, Whitman, and Morrison, as well as the genres of the gothic story and the slave narrative. Realism and Naturalism are often understood as reactions to Romanticism and are thematically concerned with man-made reality, objectivity and Darwinian ideas. Our study may include Wharton, Dreiser, and contemporary U.S. fiction.

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

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Arts and Humanities
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LIT4608
  • Number of Credits: 4

MOB3507 An Irish Journey: Leadership, Collaboration & Innovation in the Creative Ecosystem in Ireland
4 Advanced Management Credits (Elective Abroad)
This course will provide undergraduate students a unique opportunity to experience and examine the current economic, social and political trends in the creative ecosystem in Ireland. We will directly engage and interact with Irish entrepreneurs, business executives, artists, performers, athletes and historians to strive to understand the ways in which creativity and innovation occur, flourish and extend far beyond the boundaries of this relatively small island nation. Our goal will be to immerse ourselves into the creative processes, systems, cultural norms and institutions that have led Ireland to gain the reputation and standing as one of the most innovative economies in the world.

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Management
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: MOB3507
  • Number of Credits: 4

OIM7546 Analytical Managers and Organization
(Formerly MBA7545)
3 Blended Credits

If you took and passed MBA7545, you cannot register for OIM7546, as these two courses are equivalent

This course is designed to teach MBA students what it means to be an analytical manager, and how to build the capabilities required to be a highly analytical organization. It addresses the non-statistical topics in analytical decision-making at the individual level (including framing the problem and communicating the results), which should complement statistically-oriented courses at Babson. It also addresses the key factors (in the DELTTA model-data, enterprise, leadership, targets, technology, and analysts) necessary to succeed with analytics at the organizational level. It incorporates new course content specifically relevant to big data and analytics based on it. The course specifically delves into how both large and entrepreneurial organizations are addressing big data and analytics, and focuses in particular on how digital and online firms use and manage analytics. We'll discuss various industries' and functions' use of analytics, but the only one addressed in any depth is web analytics for digitally-oriented businesses.

  • Program: Graduate
  • Division: Operations and Information Management
  • Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
  • Course Number: OIM7546
  • Number of Credits: 3