Information for Students
Course field trip in the metaverse for INT 137RT: Religion and Technology
Arnhold Summer Courses allow students to explore compelling topics from multiple perspectives and apply their knowledge through hands-on, project-based experiences. Students work closely with course instructors and TAs to discuss different ways that scholars approach concepts like utopia, religion, time, and more. Arnhold Summer Courses offer one-of-a-kind learning experiences by challenging students to think through making and doing, such as thinking about utopia through writing short stories, learning about religion and technology in the metaverse, relating to Shakespeare through helping rehearse a live theatrical production, and many more.
Scholarships
Arnhold Summer Courses offer competitive scholarships to offset the cost of summer courses. For more information about how to apply for a scholarship, please visit Summer Sessions’ website or contact Summer Sessions directly.
Now Enrolling Summer 2026!
Summer Session B 2026
Irwin Appel (Theater & Dance) and Jim Kearney (English)
8.0 Credits
This course brings together two faculty, English Professor James Kearney and Theater & Dance Professor Irwin Appel, to offer students an immersive experience of Shakespeare that combines performance, literary study, and research. Students can expect Shakespeare to come to life on page and stage as they experience these multifaceted plays from a variety of perspectives.
Brad Bouley (History) and Patrick McHugh (Writing)
5.0 Credits
The dream of a perfect society, in which all residents would live in harmony with certain ideals, has animated politicians and the public from mythical Atlantis to the 1,100 “intentional communities” currently thriving in the United States. But perfection has its dark side and utopian dreamers have included colonizing bishops in the Americas, the Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, and the Russian strongman Joseph Stalin. This course will examine the utopian dream through history, literature, philosophy, and public memory. Starting with a historical and philosophical background of the concepts and unintended consequences of idealism, the course will then turn to focus more narrowly on our own planned community of Isla Vista. Students will engage with public history and memory to trace the ideals and the reality that have animated and continue to impact our surrounding community. Finally, in the last part of the survey, students will look at the future, focusing first on fictional accounts of utopia and dystopias, before writing their own speculative fiction as a final project.
Juan Cobo Betancourt (History) and Juan Pablo Lupi (Latin American and Iberian Studies)
5.0 Credits
How has writing been imagined in Latin America from pre-Hispanic times to the present? In this interactive, project-based course, we will explore this question by studying a selection of case studies—from Mesoamerican pictograms to contemporary experimental writing—using the digital tool Telar, and various disciplinary approaches, including anthropology, history, and media studies.
Questions?
Contact Dr. Nicole Strobel, Arnhold Arts and Humanities Coordinator (nstrobel@ucsb.edu).