Complex Problem & Enduring Question Courses
First year students are invited to enroll in Boston College’s innovative, team-taught Core courses: Complex Problem and Enduring Question. Each one is collaboratively taught by two faculty members from different academic departments, and each is designed to engage students in interdisciplinary explorations of topics of critical importance. These include areas such as ethics and engineering; race and violence; markets, cultures, and values; economics, law, and health policy; the value of freedom; psychological and literary perspectives of disability; and more.
Complex Problem and Enduring Question courses extend inquiry beyond the classroom to labs, reflection sessions, conversations with outside speakers, and off-campus field visits, creating an intensive shared learning experience for both teachers and students. They exemplify Boston College’s innovative approach to Core education by establishing a foundation for students’ intellectual development and preparing them to become engaged, effective world citizens.
You will have the opportunity to enroll in Complex Problem and Enduring Question courses when you register for spring courses this November. Both are worth six credits and fulfill two of the University’s Core Curriculum requirements.
Spring 2025 Complex Problem and Enduring Question Courses
Complex Problem Courses
Complex Problem courses are six-credit courses, team-taught by two professors from different disciplines. Students meet multiple days each week for lectures and once per week for lab. Students and faculty also gather for weekly Reflection sessions, which may involve group activities; guest speakers, or field trips off campus. Each paired Complex Problem course fulfills two Core requirements. Some may fill an additional Core requirement for Cultural Diversity, through either Difference, Justice and the Common Good (DJCG) or Engaging Difference and Justice (EDJ).
If you have any questions about these courses or how to register, e-mail core@miyao2009.com.
Consumer Culture: Past, Present, and the Fate of the Planet
SOCY 1714 + HIST 1717
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + History II
Juliet Schor, Sociology
Robin Fleming, History
Ethan Tupelo, Core Fellow
Although we are increasingly aware that our habits of consumption affect the environment, it is hard to imagine that consuming patterns can be changed. In this course, students will learn that practices of consumption are both socially and historically constructed, that they change dramatically over time, and that there are (and always have been) urgent moral issues connected to these ways of life. We will explore the global, social, and environmental dimensions of consumption, studying things like the 1897 Sears catalog, 1950s television shows, Canada Goose jackets, DIY manuals and makerspaces, and hippy cookbooks of the 1960s.
These course lectures meet:
•MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
You must select one of the following lab selections with your registration:
- M 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
- T 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
- Th 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
- F 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Reflection will be held:
- W 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
The “Other” Americans: Representation and Reality in Asian America
HIST 1621 + UNAS 1729
▶ Fulfills History II + Arts + Cultural Diversity
Arissa Oh, History
Anthony Tran, Communication
Hongyan Yang, Core Fellow
Asian American history is American history. It is simply not possible to understand why the United States looks the way it does today without understanding the roles American interactions with Asian nations and people have played in the development of U.S. society. Despite being key figures in immigration, trade, and foreign policies and domestic contests around race, class, gender, and sexuality, Asians in America are continuously (un)seen as the “Other” Americans. This course will explore the history and mediated representations of Asians in the U.S. to understand how U.S. society has constructed Asians in America and how Asian Americans have sought to speak for themselves. By analyzing primary sources, films, television, and digital media - as well as producing their own media based on historical materials - students will critically engage with U.S. history as both historians and media producers to examine the complex ways Asian Americans have shaped America itself.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
You must select one of the following lab selections with your registration:
- Th 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
- Th 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
- F 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- F 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Reflection will be held:
- M 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Enduring Question Courses
Enduring Question courses are two linked three-credit courses taught by professors from different disciplines. The same 19 students take both courses. Four times during the semester, students and faculty gather for Reflection sessions, which may involve group activities, guest speakers, or field trips off campus. Each pair of Enduring Question courses fulfills two Core requirements. Some may fulfill an additional Core requirement for Cultural Diversity through either Difference, Justice, and the Common Good (DJCG) or Engaging Difference and Justice (EDJ).
If you have any questions about these courses or how to register, e-mail core@miyao2009.com.
Imperial Designs: Art and Rivalry in the Eastern Mediterranean Frontier (ARTH1110)
Imperial Designs: Colonizing History (HIST1723)
▶ Fulfills Arts + History I + Cultural Diversity
John Lansdowne, Art History
Elizabeth Shlala, Associate Dean for the Core
Who owns the past and its artifacts?
In this course pairing, we will examine the enduring ideas of empires and their challengers through the present day. These courses interrogate an enduring facet of the attitude of the imperial center toward places, spaces, and peoples: the impulse to chart, divide, name, claim, and portray. Using historical maps as our point of departure, we will investigate how these imperial impulses, made manifest in shifting constructs of ownership and otherness, extended beyond physical territories to encompass - to colonize - bodies and minds. Probing the visual, material, and embodied legacies of conquest in the Mediterranean context affords insight into the borders and boundaries still imposed today.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
- TTh 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Life, Liberty, and Health: The Economics of Healthcare (ECON1702)
Life, Liberty, and Health: Policy, Politics, and Law (UNAS1702)
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + History II + Cultural Diversity
Tracy Regan, Economics
Mary Ann Chirba, Law School
Why is healthcare so interconnected with policy, law, and economics?
Recently, health has become a central focus of political infighting, public discord, and personal worry. Healthcare and health insurance now dominate everything from think tanks to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Meanwhile, concussions go up, NFL ratings go down, drug prices soar, and opioid abuse damages individuals, families, the healthcare system, and the economy. Such complex issues are best understood through interdisciplinary study. These paired courses will introduce basic principles of economics, law, and public policy through the lens of contemporary problems involving enduring questions of government authority and individual autonomy, morality and ethics, social justice, and human rights.
These course lectures meet:
- MW 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- MW 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- M 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Disney: American Social Norms and Values (COMM1701)
Disney: Narrative and Myth in American Culture (ENGL1725)
▶ Fulfills Social Science + Literature
Rita Rosenthal, Communication
Bonnie Rudner, English
What role do literature and popular culture play in shaping our views and decisions about social and political matters?
These paired courses investigate different aspects of Disney. In one course, students will explore the history of folk tales and their movement around the world. Source material will include Grimm, Perrault, Anderson, and others, and students will focus on the ways tales have been altered by Disney for their movies. In the other course, students will examine how Disney influences society's views of acceptable and preferable social constructs. By analyzing Disney's media and other cultural products, students will assess the implications and global impact of their persuasive messages.
These course lectures meet:
- MWF 11:00 – 11:55 a.m.
- TTh 9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Reflection will be held four times during the semester:
- W 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
The American Divide: The Economics of Inequality (ECON1703)
The American Divide: The Philosophy of Inequality (PHIL1711)
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + 1 Philosophy + Cultural Diversity
Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, Economics
Cherie McGill, Philosophy
How should we interpret our nation's persistent inequalities when our founding documents assert the equality of all?
Concern over inequality in the U.S. has shown itself in movements like Occupy Wall Street, the Fight for a Fifteen Dollar Minimum Wage, and Black Lives Matter, and has become even more of a focus since the COVID-19 pandemic. These paired courses will examine the meaning, causes, and consequences of inequality from the perspectives of economics and philosophy. Providing a broad picture of the current state of the U.S. economy and analyzing the role of economic policy in determining opportunities and outcomes, these courses will prepare students to develop their own views about how past economic choices have shaped current economic realities and how we might create a more equitable future.
These course lectures meet:
- MW 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
- MW 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Film screenings will be held four times during the semester:
- W 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Crafting Alternative Futures: Communication, Agency, and World-Making (COMM2205)
Crafting Alternative Futures: Imagined Worlds in Literature (ENGL1739)
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + Literature + Cultural Diversity
Kalemba Kizito, Communication
Krithika Vachali, English
How can we harness the power of imagination to build alternative societies?
These paired courses invite students to explore the power of public imagination as a tool for constructing alternative societies. By working with critical, media, and communication theories alongside literature and film about speculative future worlds, students will interrogate existing systems and envision futures that challenge the status quo. Students will be encouraged to take agency in the process of creating new futures by collaborating on projects and crafting narratives and blueprints for societies that prioritize sustainability, equity, and the common good. Through the courses, students will develop the tools to critically examine scholarship and literature in social, political, intellectual, and literary contexts while learning to use persuasion to mobilize communities and take an active role in shaping the future.
These course lectures meet:
- MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- W 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Growing Up Gendered: Contemporary Media Representations (COMM2216)
Growing Up Gendered: Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Contemporary Society (SOCY1708)
▶ Fulfills Literature + 1 Social Science + Cultural Diversity
Lisa Cuklanz, Communication
Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Sociology
How is our gendered identity constructed?
These paired courses analyze how societal norms shape gender roles by examining the impact of family, educational settings, media representations, and social interactions that further understanding of gender identity and sexual orientation. TV shows, movies, ads, and online platforms are assessed. These courses explore how gender intersects with factors such as sexuality, race, and social status, and their impact on gender identity. Issues related to gender-based violence are also examined. By engaging in group discussions, lectures, and innovative assignments that draw from fields including communication studies, sociology, and psychology, students will gain a deeper understanding of how gender roles are constructed.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
War and Peace: History and Literary Truths (HIST1727)
War and Peace: Historical and Literary Experiences (UNAS1715)
▶ Fulfills History II + Literature
Nicole Eaton, History
Thomas Epstein, Classical Studies
How does War and Peace speak through its historical context as a description of a perennial human situation?
War and Peace is a great and massive novel. Its primary subject, the effect of the Napoleonic Wars on Russia, may seem distant from our contemporary concerns. Yet its fundamental questions - "How shall I live and what is worth dying for?” “Is war a necessary evil, or something greater, or different?” “How does our social-historical experience construct our identity?" - are as relevant today as ever. Approaching these and other questions from two separate disciplines, we will attend both to the historical and literary context in which War and Peace was written and to the ways it speaks to us today.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Reckoning with Incarceration: Social Perspectives (COMM2183)
Reckoning with Incarceration: Biological Perspectives (UNAS1734)
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + 1 Natural Science + Cultural Diversity
Celeste Wells, Communication
Jessica Black, School of Social Work
How do stories concerning justice, retribution, and rehabilitation shape the physical, mental, and social health of individuals?
These paired courses will examine how the universal needs of justice and safety are institutionalized by legal, social, health, and cultural fields, and how victims, perpetrators of crime, and the families of both come to understand them. One course will explore the stories and unequal impacts of the retribution versus rehabilitation design of the U.S. incarceration model, while the other course will examine how experiences like toxic stress, social exclusion, and poor sleep impact physical and mental health on a biological level and throughout the lifespan.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
- TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- T 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
How Sports Explain America: The History of Sports in the United States (HIST1718)
How Sports Explain America: The Sociology of Sports in the United States (SOCY1718)
▶ Fulfills History II + 1 Social Science + Cultural Diversity
Thomas Mogan, Associate Dean, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
Kyoung-yim Kim, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
How have sports served to define and illustrate the essence of American society and culture throughout history and in contemporary times?
These paired courses will explore the complex relationship between sports and society. Through an interdisciplinary approach to history and sociology, students will analyze the evolution of sports, assess how they mirror the changing dynamics of American society and culture, and investigate the multifaceted roles sports have played and continue to play in shaping our society. By the end of these courses, students will understand how sports serve as a microcosm of American society and a platform for social change, fostering critical thinking and a deep appreciation of the nation's cultural fabric.
These course lectures meet:
- TTh 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.
- TTh 4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
From Charity to Justice: Transforming Approaches to Poverty in Political Economy (UNAS1737)
From Charity to Justice: Transforming Approaches to Poverty in Literature (ENGL1742)
▶ Fulfills 1 Social Science + Literature + Cultural Diversity
Peter Giraudo, Core Fellow
Gayathri Goel, Core Fellow
Why does poverty persist and how can we remedy it?
In an individualistic society such as ours, poverty is often framed as a personal failing. In these paired courses, however, we will look at some of the systemic factors, notably capitalism, as mechanisms that create and sustain a poorer class of people. We will also consider how poverty complicates narratives of markets as fostering progress and individual freedom. If freedom for some requires the regimentation and exclusion of the many, is it genuine progress? By examining enduring accounts of poverty, we will explore its origins as a mass phenomenon, consequences for civic bonds, and influence on political participation. In addition to making poverty visible, literary texts will also demystify the complex nexus of factors that produce poverty and inhibit true progress. Understanding what causes poverty is the first step in alleviating the suffering of the poor, so that everyone has the right to a life of dignity and fulfillment.
These course lectures meet:
Section 01
- MWF 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
- MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
OR
Section 02
- MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
- MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
The Just City: Global Perspectives on Power and Social Difference (HIST1722)
The Just City: Understanding Environmental Problems and Solutions (ENVS1737)
▶ Fulfills History II + 1 Social Science + Cultural Diversity
Andrei Guadarrama, Core Fellow
Courtney Humphries, Core Fellow
How can we create just cities?
In an urbanizing world, contemporary cities are characterized by the production and reproduction of social and environmental inequalities. While cities are uneven landscapes, they are also laboratories for social and environmental justice. But how do urban inequalities work? What makes a more just city? These paired courses investigate these questions from social, global, and environmental perspectives. We will discuss how city-building and suburbanization are mediated through natural resources and infrastructural systems that shape structures of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and age. Students will cultivate their own interdisciplinary frameworks of social and environmental justice as a step toward becoming informed global citizens.
These course lectures meet:
Section 01
- MWF 1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
- MWF 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
OR
Section 02
- MWF 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
- MWF 3:00 – 3:50 p.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Building A Habitable Planet: Theological Perspectives (THEO1703)
Building A Habitable Planet: Geoscientific Perspectives (EESC1701)
▶ Fulfills 1 Theology (Sacred Texts and Traditions) + 1 Natural Science
Natana Delong-Bas, Theology
Ethan Baxter, Associate Dean for the STEM Disciplines
How have religion and science shaped our understanding of the origins of the Earth, its evolution into a habitable planet, and our human relationship with it?
Providing both Christian and Islamic perspectives, this course explores our planet and the evolution of life. Students will also examine the scientific method and the tools of geology, geochemistry, and geophysics used to unlock the history of the Earth from its beginnings.
These course lectures meet:
- MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
- MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
Reflections will be held 4 times during the semester:
- Th 6:00 – 7:50 p.m.
Reflection and Formation
Reflection is a central element of student formation at Boston College and a fundamental component of the design of Complex Problem and Enduring Question courses. In Reflection sessions, students connect the content of the course to their lives beyond the classroom and to the larger University community. In this way, Reflection is intimately tied to the University Core Curriculum learning goal of teaching students how to “examine their values and experiences and integrate what they learn with the principles that guide their lives.” Reflection sessions provide a space for discussion of the ethical implications of material covered in the course and help students process their reactions to challenging course materials. Additionally, Reflection provides opportunities for ideas and practices associated with formative experiences at Boston College to emerge.
Course Reflection sessions may include:
Practices
- A session on the Jesuit Examen led by Mission and Ministry
- A workshop teaching students about different meditative practices
- A yoga workshop
- A workshop on reflective journaling
- An e-media fast, where students abstain from all electronic devices and media for 24 hours
- A lesson in practicing silence for increasingly long periods of time
Exercises
- In a course on migration, students were shown an array of timeworn objects and asked to write narratives about the journey of a chosen object. Students then shared their narratives and discussed their own experiences of migration.
- In a course on gender, students divided into groups to create collages from magazine images illustrating the role of mass media in reinforcing or challenging traditional gender stereotypes.
- In a course on books and media, a conservator from Burns Library led a session in which students played the role of 16th-century apprentices in a print shop and used bookbinding tools to create a vellum pamphlet.
- In a course on climate change, students participated in a World Food Banquet to reflect on food issues around the globe.
Field Trips
- A visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to see an Islamic Arts exhibition
- A trip to Mount Auburn Cemetery to consider the meaning of life and death
- An excursion to Cape Cod beaches to observe and compare signs of sea level change on a pristine and developed coast. Afterward, students enjoyed dinner at a faculty member’s home.
- An outing to Walden Pond to reflect on the lived experiences of Henry David Thoreau and the value of nature
Guest Speakers
- A panel of veterans who shared their experience of war
- A dis/abled alumnus who discussed their experiences on campus
- A lecture by Kwame Appiah on cosmopolitanism and the legacy of empires
- A Environmental Studies lecture series on climate change
Hands-On, Project-Based Learning
Weekly, 75-minute labs are a distinctive feature of Complex Problem courses that allow students to develop and synthesize disciplinary skills, integrating lecture material with active learning. Students collaborate in groups on hands-on projects that extend the course beyond the walls of the classroom and into the broader community.
Lab sessions in Complex Problem courses may include:
- A partnership with the City of Boston’s Environment Department where studentsdeveloped plans for inexpensive ways that residents of various neighborhoods could reduce carbon emissions
- A collaboration with local anti-violence organizations where students helped to develop programming for survivors
- A podcasting project where students students researched, developed, and recorded a compelling story about climate issues
- A mural project honoring the founders of #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo
- A comprehensive revitalization plan for a Boston neighborhood impacted by various forms of injustice
- An urban walk to learn more about tree equity
- Engineering design projects focused on improved accessibility on the Boston College campus
- Case study research and concept mapping of Marine Protected Areas around the world
- Op-ed writing about ocean and climate change issues
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Students visit Boston’s Chinatown to reflect on sites built by Asian immigrants and inhabited by Asian Americans
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Students program and evaluate a robot prototype
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Students meditate, pray, and reflect as they walk outside the Burns Library
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Students engage in a yoga practice on the Bapst lawn