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)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2074
- Number of Credits: 4
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)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2029
- Number of Credits: 4
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)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2004
- Number of Credits: 4
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
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7530
- Number of Credits: 3
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?
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM6300
- Number of Credits: 3
QTM7571 Introduction to Machine Learning Methods for Business
(Formerly Business Intelligence, Analytics & Visualization)
3 Credits
This course introduces machine learning methods for business intelligence. Given the ease of data collection and storage, extracting meaningful information from data has become an essential trait for competitiveness, for companies large and small. In this course, you will learn a variety of supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods that companies use to turn data into insights, such as linear regression, k-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, classification and regression trees, etc. You will get hands-on experience in data pre-processing, generating business predictions, and model performance evaluation. Your learnings will be in practical contexts with in-class exercises and projects.
The various methods covered in this course will be implemented using a programming language. No prior knowledge in programming is required.
Prerequisites: QTM 7200 OR QTM7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM7571
- Number of Credits: 3
LTA2078 Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know: Rebels and Anti-Heroes
Intermediate Liberal ArtsWhen Lady Caroline Lamb described her former lover, the poet Lord Byron, as _mad, bad, and dangerous to know, she vividly captured a widespread fascination with figures who reject society's norms. Simultaneously alluring and threatening, rebels and anti-heroes unsettle the outer limit of acceptable behavior through their transgressions. This course will examine how rebels and anti-heroes shape a society's identity while living at - or beyond - its margins. We will also pay particular attention to questions of gender when considering these figures' own identities. We will read novels, plays, poetry, and cultural critique in order to trace the development of rebels and anti-heroes in western literature, as well as to understand them in their specific cultural and historical contexts.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: RHT and AHS
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2078
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3524 Made in Japan: Culture & Opportunities
4 Elective Abroad Credits
This course is built on two major themes:
1. Cultural excursion
Provide students to have an in-Âdepth look and a chance to experience Japan's culture, in other words, its institutional environment (i.e., formal and informal rules of the game)
-Â Students will have opportunities to examine this through various dimensions that constitute the diversity and complexity of the country's cultural/institutional environment today:
o Metropolitan vs. suburban
o Modern-Âcontemporary vs. old-Âfashioned
o Young-Âemerging vs. mature-Âestablished
o High vs. low tech, etc.
2. Entrepreneurial opportunities
Encourage students to practice Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A) within the cultural/institutional environment in Japan.
-Â Students will work in teams to conduct observations, identify problems and opportunities, design an entrepreneurial initiative, and assess its impact (including stakeholder analysis) and feasibility - in various contexts/perspectives:
o Location-Âbased
o Industry-Âbased
o Interest/theme-Âbased, etc.
The entire course is designed on the concept of interactive learning through site visits, mini projects, and individual/group research.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3524
- Number of Credits: 4
EXP7501 Make Your Internship Matter
(Online)
As freshly hired graduate interns, you have an opportunity to test your chosen field of work and apply what you've learned from the first year of your Babson program. In this wholly on-line, asynchronous course, you will go through modules themed around critical career topics like networking, negotiating, and personal branding, while reflecting on your real-time internship experience. By the end of the semester, you will be equipped with strategies that empower you take ownership of your career development for a lifetime.
International students using their CPT to work in the US are required to take this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EXP7501
- Number of Credits: 0
EXP7502 Make Your Internship Matter II
(Online)
In this second iteration of "Beyond the Classroom," you will be given a space to conduct comparisons between your two consecutive internships. By now you have acquired the foundational skills for self-managed career development, a lifelong skill. During your second internship you will be asked to intentionally apply this framework in order to navigate the final year (or semester) and beyond.
International students using their CPT to work in the US are required to take this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EXP7502
- Number of Credits: 0