Courses

This course introduces many fundamental concepts in computer science by examining the social aspects of computing. As more and more people use the technologies and services available via the Internet, online environments like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Twitter, and blogs are flourishing. However, several of the problems related to security, privacy, and trust that exist in the real world transfer and become amplified in the virtual world created by the ubiquity and pervasiveness of the Internet. In this course, we will investigate how the social, technological, and natural worlds are connected, and how the study of networks sheds light on these connections. Topics include the structure of the Social Web and networks in general; issues such as virtual identity, personal and group privacy, trust evaluation and propagation, and online security; and the technology, economics, and politics of Web information and online communities. No background in computer science or programming is required or expected. Continue reading »

The game is unique as the only broadly–successful interactive art form. Games communicate the experience of embodying a role by manipulating the player's own decisions, abstraction, and discrete planning. Those three elements are the essence of computation, which makes computer science theory integral to game design. Video games also co–opt programming and computer graphics as new tools for the modern artist. As a result, games are collaborative interdisciplinary constructs that use computation as a medium for creative expression. Students analyze and extend contemporary video and board games using the methodology of science and the language of the arts. They explore how computational concepts like recursion, state, and complexity apply to interactive experiences. They then synthesize new game elements using mathematics, programming and both digital and traditional art tools. Emphasis is on the theory of design in modern European board games. Topics covered include experiment design, gameplay balance, minimax, color theory, pathfinding, game theory, composition, and computability. Continue reading »

This course provides an opportunity to develop an understanding of the theoretical and practical concepts underlying 2- and 3-dimensional computer graphics. The course will emphasize hands-on studio/laboratory experience, with student work focused around completing a series of projects. Students will experiment with modeling, color, lighting, perspective, and simple animation. As the course progresses, computer programming will be used to control the complexity of the models and their interactions. Lectures, augmented by guided viewings of state-of-the-art computer generated and enhanced images and animations, will be used to deepen understanding of the studio experience. Continue reading »