Course Description

Civil wars are the most common form of conflict across the world, causing death, destruction, and humanitarian crises. Their impact on politics, economics, and international stability can extend far after the war ends. How can the international community address this pernicious problem? What determines whether interventions to stop the fighting are successful?

In this course, students will learn about the tools the global community uses to solve disputes and debate potential solutions to ongoing conflicts. We’ll start by looking at the intersection of foreign policy, strategy, and negotiation—what do countries want and how do they get it? Then we’ll dive into theories of conflict resolution and how the United Nations plays a role as a peacemaker across the world. The course culminates with an exciting, hands-on UN Security Council simulation, where students will tackle issues related to real-world conflicts, develop informed solutions, and put their negotiation skills to the test.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, students will:

• Understand important concepts related to negotiation and how they are applied both in instances of civil war and within international organizations like the UN
• Learn about the causes of civil war onset and termination, and the effectiveness of conflict resolution strategies
• Apply their knowledge of conflict resolution identify potential solutions to three conflicts covered in our simulation
• Apply their knowledge of negotiation to identify ideal scenarios, trade-offs, coalition-building opportunities in our simulation
• Have facility with finding and evaluating a variety of sources for research in international affairs
• Develop written communication skill from drafting resolutions and oral communication skills by presenting and debating during our simulation.

Tangible Outcomes

The tangible outputs are mostly group-based and most have an (non-material) experiential component. Students put together briefings (slide deck, 2-page policy memo) in teams on an ongoing civil war in Africa.  Students also write draft resolutions in their UN Security Council simulation.

Hands-On Activities 

In the first week, each afternoon is a structured research session in which the instructor demonstrated useful research skills/tools alongside our subject librarian.  This provided an opportunity for students to dig into meaningful research, both individually and in groups, while also having access to support from the instructor and Dartmouth's History and Social Sciences librarian.

Guest Speakers

• Wendel Cox, History Librarian.
• Victoria Holt, Director of Dickey Center, former State Department official in Office of International Organizations and Peacekeeping.
• Elizabeth Shackleford, Dickey Policy Director, former State Department official with experience in Somalia and South Sudan.
• Peter Jenkins, Dickey Center Internship Coordinator.

Field Trips 

Students will spend time in the library and visit the Dickey Center for International Understanding. 

Benefits for Future Study

Understanding negotiation is important for everyone. It's perspective-taking. It's thinking about trade-offs. It's identifying opportunities for constructive compromise. The substance of the negotiations are some of the deadliest conflicts and largest humanitarian challenges happening today.  About a third of the students go on to major in Political Science or International Relations, and some have shared that they are joining the Model UN Team at their school. 

Course Description 

This immersive course strengthens students' Spanish communication skills by combining language acquisition with persuasive speaking, debate, and public presentation. Using Dartmouth's internationally recognized Rassias Method®, students build confidence through energetic conversation, interactive drills, and real-world communication scenarios designed to encourage spontaneous speech and meaningful cultural engagement.

Throughout the course, participants develop persuasive communication skills while exploring topics related to business, law, politics, leadership, and community engagement. Students practice debates, presentations, negotiations, and collaborative discussions that expand both their linguistic abilities and intercultural understanding.

By the end of the program, students will communicate with greater fluency, confidence, and cultural awareness while gaining practical language skills that can be applied in academic, professional, and global settings.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Communicate confidently in spoken Spanish using persuasive language and culturally appropriate expressions.
• Construct and defend arguments during presentations, debates, and discussions.
• Respond spontaneously to questions and counterarguments in real-time conversations.
• Apply advanced vocabulary related to leadership, negotiation, and professional communication.
• Analyze persuasive communication strategies across diverse Spanish-speaking contexts.
• Demonstrate increased fluency, confidence, and intercultural competence through immersive language practice.

Course Description 

Can you have a real relationship with an AI? Would a child born on Mars experience being human in the same way we do? If we could edit the genes of future children, should we? Where does the human body end when technology becomes part of it? And if humans increasingly redesign their bodies, minds, environments, and even descendants, what might eventually come after Homo sapiens?

Human, Rewired explores some of the most provocative scientific and technological developments of our time through an unexpected lens: anthropology. Anthropologists have long studied how humans create culture, families, communities, rituals, identities, beliefs, technologies, and systems of power. This course turns that anthropological gaze toward us and toward a future that today’s students may inhabit.

Over nine days, students move from human evolution and earlier technological transformations to neuroscience, artificial intelligence, digital relationships, life beyond Earth, genetic engineering, prosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, human enhancement, and possible post-human societies.

The course is grounded in a central anthropological insight: Technology is never adopted in a vacuum. It enters existing worlds of culture, kinship, identity, inequality, belief, and power. Students therefore consider emerging technologies not simply as scientific achievements but as forces capable of changing relationships, institutions, bodies, identities, opportunities, and definitions of what it means to be human.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand foundational scientific principles behind human evolution, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, human spaceflight, genetics, prosthetics, and brain-computer interfaces.
• Explain how earlier technologies have changed human behavior, societies, and environments.
• Analyze how technological change can reinforce, reduce, or create new forms of inequality
• Conduct structured ethnographic observation of familiar environments, digital communities, and technological interactions.
• Evaluate contested questions from multiple cultural, scientific, and ethical perspectives.
• Construct and defend an evidence-based vision of a plausible future human community.

Course Description

What happens when writing leaves the classroom and enters the wilderness? Creative Writing in the Great Outdoors invites students to use the natural environment as both inspiration and classroom. Across meadows, forests, rivers, and mountain trails accessible from Dartmouth's campus, students will explore how place shapes imagination, storytelling, and voice. Through daily writing exercises, group workshops, and guided explorations, participants will practice poetry, narrative nonfiction, and short fiction while connecting with the rhythms of the natural world. The course emphasizes reflection, experimentation, and the development of a sustainable creative practice—one that integrates observation of the self, the group, and the environment. By the end of the course, students will leave with a portfolio of original work and a deeper appreciation for the intersection of creativity, community, and wilderness.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Generate original creative writing inspired by the natural environment.
• Apply literary techniques (imagery, metaphor, narrative structure, voice) to poetry, nonfiction, and fiction.
• Demonstrate skills of observation, reflection, and sensory detail in their writing.
• Engage in peer workshops, providing and receiving constructive feedback on creative work.
• Reflect on the relationship between environment and creativity, including how natural settings influence human expression.
• Assemble a small portfolio of revised creative pieces that represent growth over the course.

Tangible Outcome

Final Showcase: Present selected works in a closing reading at the Lodge, highlighting the integration of nature and creative voice.

Hands-On Activites

To achieve these outcomes, students will:

• Outdoor Writing Sessions: Write daily in natural settings around Moosilauke Lodge (by rivers, in meadows, along trails), guided by prompts that emphasize sensory detail and reflection.
• Genre Exploration Workshops: Experiment with poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction through structured exercises.
• Hiking & Reflection: Participate in guided hikes, using physical movement and immersion in nature as a spark for creative thought.
• Peer Workshops: Share drafts in small groups and practice the craft of giving and receiving feedback.
• Reading Circles: Engage with selected works of nature-inspired writers (e.g., Mary Oliver, Barry Lopez, Robin Wall Kimmerer) to connect contemporary voices to their own practice.

Course Description

Drawing from positive psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and behavioral science, this course explores the scientific study of happiness, resilience, and human flourishing. Rather than focusing solely on mental illness, students investigate the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive.

Through interactive discussions, psychological research, reflective journaling, and experiential activities, participants examine topics including gratitude, purpose, motivation, relationships, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, optimism, and resilience. Students critically evaluate common misconceptions about happiness while exploring evidence-based practices that promote long-term psychological well-being.

By the end of the course, students will understand the science behind happiness while developing practical strategies for supporting their own well-being and contributing positively to the lives of others.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Explain major theories and research findings in positive psychology.
• Analyze factors that contribute to psychological well-being and resilience.
• Evaluate scientific evidence supporting practices that promote flourishing.
• Apply evidence-based well-being strategies to everyday life.
• Reflect on personal values, relationships, and life goals through guided activities.
• Communicate psychological concepts using scientific evidence and critical thinking.