March Classes

• The Battle over Liberty: the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights
• Entrepreneurship: Building New Businesses is NOT Business as Usual
• Filming Harry Potter: Adapting a Book to Film
• Physics of the Impossible—Class Closed
• The Hidden Ireland: An Overview
• How to Win Games

Class Cancelled
The Battle over Liberty: the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights

John Mack, PhD

The course will begin with a discussion of the original debate over whether to adopt the U.S. Constitution and whether to include the Bill of Rights in that document. Students will read selections from the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. They will then choose a side and present the argument, from a 21^st-century vantage point, as to why the side they selected was correct in its approach to the issues. We will then look at how the Supreme Court has interpreted the meaning of the Bill of Rights. Students will study one major Court case in detail and present their findings through a mock court session.

Entrepreneurship: Building New Businesses is NOT Business as Usual

Jim West, MS

Want to know how to get out of the current U.S. financial crisis? The answer is to create new companies that are innovative, and have high-growth trajectories that can compete on a global scale. Come find out the secrets to starting your own company. In this two-day course we will learn about entrepreneurs by looking at what makes them tick and how you can position yourself to be one.

What are the key secrets to successful startups? It might not be what you think. During the weekend we will go through a simulation activity that will engage you and your classmates to help start and define a startup. Learn about the challenges, pitfalls, rewards and, most important, get exposure to the road less traveled. Often you will have to step outside of your comfort zone as an entrepreneur, so come prepared with an open mind ready to tackle whatever challenges are laid before you.

Class Cancelled
Filming Harry Potter: Adapting a Book to Film

Mark Daly, PhD

How can they take 900 pages and turn it into a film? Why did they omit this? Why did they change that? These are common questions—complaints even—among Harry Potter fans. This class investigates crucial questions involved in adapting a novel into a film. We will analyze clips from Harry Potter films and compare them to the novels. Rather than simply rehash complaints about missing material, we will study the complex questions involved in adapting a book to film. We will pay close attention to semiotic codes and different creative possibilities inherent in both media, such as using the camera and sound in film and placing readers inside a character’s head in a novel. Students will also work in teams to try a hand at adapting chapters of The Deathly Hallows for their own film. Through these exercises, students will gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes a good or effective film adaptation.

Physics of the Impossible—Class Closed

Caitlin Rochford, MS

Not that long ago, brilliant scientists declared that things like airplanes, x-rays and space travel were impossible-the stuff of science fiction. As our knowledge has grown, seemingly impossible things have become scientific fact right before our eyes. So what about teleportation, invisibility and time travel? In this class we will discuss how some of these "impossible" technologies might one day be realized. We will learn about emerging physics and technology that is paving the way, and we will perform our own experiments to demonstrate the principles. The class will be an active mixture of discussion and hands-on experiments.

Class Cancelled
The Hidden Ireland: An Overview

Sorcha Hyland, MA

This two-day workshop offers an overview of Irish culture from 1845 to the present as we consider how "Irishness" is represented in film, art and literature over the period.

On day one scholars will be introduced to predominant themes in Irish history. We will use literary and film analysis along with improvisational and creative writing activities to examine and reenact key historical events. Scholars will also visit KU’s Kenneth Spencer Research Library (KSRL) to develop a short Irish research topic. KSRL’s combined Irish holdings amount to one of most significant and sizable Irish collections outside of Ireland. Our scholars will learn how to locate, request and handle these original materials at KSRL’s new Marilyn Stokstad Reading Room. The visit will include a private tour of KSRL’s closed stacks courtesy of Elspeth Healy, Special Collections Librarian.

On day two scholars will finalize their research topics then visit the Spencer Museum of Art to examine a collection of photographs by Dublin-born photographer, Alen MacWeeney. We will discuss MacWeeney’s connections to the Irish poet laureate, William Butler Yeats, and their shared interest in Irish Tinkers or "Travellers" as they are now known. We will conclude the workshop with research topic presentations for parents and peers.

How to Win Games

Gavin Strunk, MS

Have you ever tried to play a game such as rock, paper, scissors to get out of doing something? Did you play the best strategy or did you get stuck taking out the trash? Regardless of the type of game, whether it be cards, coins, dice or something else, all games have a best strategy to play. Game theory is a branch of mathematics that attempts to find a winning strategy for all kinds of games. Even if math is not your favorite subject in school, no worries, this class is not like a typical boring math class (don't tell your teacher I said that). Fortunately the only way to see if these old mathematicians knew what they were talking about is to play games! This class will teach you how to use simple math to come up with the best strategy for playing some classic games as well as some new ones. We will then put that new knowledge to use by developing our own games and hopefully increase your chances of having a day off of trash duty.