Red Dragon Seminars

In this course, students will critically examine the evidence surrounding climate and environmental change in both prehistory and history and its impacts on complex societies to guide their understanding of the risks facing modern societies. Political dissolution is not always the end of, nor is it the only response available to, complex societies. Adaptation to change is possible, and this course will use prehistoric and historic examples to provide a roadmap for a more sustainable future.

This Dragon seminar explores the connections between decolonization and social justice, examining how colonial histories shaped contemporary inequalities and resistance. Students will engage with key theories of colonialism, race, and power while analyzing movements for land rights, reparations, and environmental justice. Centering Indigenous, Black, and Global South perspectives, the course challenges conventional justice frameworks and explores decolonial activism. Through interdisciplinary readings and case studies, students will critically assess historical and ongoing struggles for equity. Through project-based, problem based learning, and critical literacies, this course targets the three core competencies of a Dragon Academy Seminar: Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, and Global Literacy.

This course examines the human ecology of imperialism since the late eighteenth century. Students will learn about the ways in which commodity economies in Europe's colonies shaped environments, the development of environmentalism on the frontiers of empire, and how the legacies of empire continue to shape the challenges of sustainability today.

Consider the ingredients you associate with "typical" Italian or Mexican food whether you cook it yourself or eat out. The peppers and tomatoes in Italian cooking and the lettuce, onions, and flour tacos in Mexican cooking are only typical now. But, prior to colonialization, Italians did not have access to peppers or tomatoes, for these are native to S. America. And prior to colonization, there was no wheat, onions, or lettuce in S. America. We will explore the history of some common agricultural plants through readings and activities.

Globalization and Sports. A study of interactions between economic principles and sports, and of economic institutions which organize sports. In examples, economics is applied to gain insight for sports. In other examples, choices in sports are used to observe insights for economics. Review of the voluminous data available from sporting contests. Readings and film selected from football, cricket, baseball, and basketball. Application of a selection economic principles to sport choices in verbal and written discussion, compare and contrast organization of sport, including connections between the Global North and South.

In this seminar you will study the history of piracy in early America. You will study different types of pirates in different eras (ca. 1500-1750) and you will learn how the pirates were finally hunted down and destroyed. Other topics include exploration, trade, smuggling, empire, naval technology, and naval warfare.

A study of interactions between economic principles and sports, and of economic institutions which organize sports. In examples, economics is applied to gain insight for sports. In other examples, choices in sports are used to observe insights for economics. Review of the voluminous data available from sporting contests. Readings and film selected from football, cricket, baseball, and basketball. Application of a selection economic principles to sport choices in verbal and written discussion, compare and contrast organization of sport, including connections between the Global North and South.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to critical thinking on a global scale by using a backdrop of global volcanic hazards and risk assessment with a focus on the impact that eruptions have on society, and particularly on the differences between the Global North and South. The course will provide summaries of the different volcanic hazards and risks and will use interdisciplinary readings to introduce students to the different aspects of volcanoes and volcanic eruptions, hazard communication, preparedness, and economic impacts. In addition, the course will introduce students to different theoretical and methodological approaches used by the global scientific community and government agencies to manage volcanic hazards and risks globally. Finally, this course will use documentaries and Hollywood films on volcanoes and volcanic eruptions as discussion topics for contemporary and historic volcanic events and the relevance to Global North and South issues related to communication, social justice, and sustainability in a context of critical thinking. A demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is of utmost importance (Epsey, 2018).

Did you know what you eat directly influences your mood and mental health? Through this class we will explore the diet-mental health relationship—how nutrition influences the way we think, feel, behave, sense, and experience; and how, in most cases, the things we eat are interfering with our health and wellbeing. More than just eating certain foods, it’s also about the way we look at food, the choices we make, and being stalwart stewards of our microbiomes. We will also investigate how this information links to sustainability, food insecurity, and other questions of social justice within our global food systems.

Did you know what you eat directly influences your mood and mental health? Through this class we will explore the diet-mental health relationship—how nutrition influences the way we think, feel, behave, sense, and experience; and how, in most cases, the things we eat are interfering with our health and wellbeing. More than just eating certain foods, it’s also about the way we look at food, the choices we make, and being stalwart stewards of our microbiomes. We will also investigate how this information links to sustainability, food insecurity, and other questions of social justice within our global food systems.

This course is designed to master memory and comprehension techniques necessary to succeed at SUNY Oneonta. This course will help manage stress and mental health along with your course work, encouraging students to find a balance between the two. Finally, there will be a critical view of how educational systems vary worldwide, so that students can learn and appreciate how other cultures approach education.
This course is excellent for aspiring psychology students, future educators, and those who are looking to gain the most of their collegiate experience.

An Exploration of Games from the Ancient to the Modern. Ludology (the study of games) is highly interdisciplinary, touching on anthropology, psychology, sociology, mathematics, and many other areas. Students are able to view and explore the class from many different lenses.

The need and desire for the pursuit of entrepreneurial ventures by graduates is growing in today’s competitive work force. The opportunities and tools to facilitate these pursuits are more abundant today than ever before. This course teaches students how to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. This course focuses on teaching students the theory of sustainable entrepreneurship and the application of entrepreneurial principles to develop and maintain small businesses through experiential learning, via a simulation game called Startup Wars. In addition, students will engage with local, national, and international Entrepreneurs, who will provide students with their unique perspectives and expertise.

Typically thought of as something evil, terrifying, the stuff of nightmares, monster also means something marvelous or exceptional. The monster is, therefore, something that we cannot look away from and yet fear to see. In this class, we will look at monsters in literature to see how they show us ourselves, illuminating issues of gender, sexuality, disability, empire, and the relationship of humans to nature.

Reproductive politics operate at multiple levels and are critical to our individual lives and national and transnational governance. Reproduction is central to narratives of nationalism, family, love and marriage, and social policies. This course examines these multivalent connections and explores issues that include reproductive health – birthing, sterilization, abortion; racialization – colonialism, slavery, immigration; eugenics; reproductive governance – population control, mortality, surrogacy; integrated reproduction – gender and sexual equality, housing, health care, and economic justice. Interdisciplinary course readings, including academic books and articles, newspaper and news magazine articles, and films, allow students to trace the issues that comprise reproductive politics from local to global.

This course introduces students to the major theoretical approaches used to study ethnicity, race, nationalism, and citizenship, and to the ways in which these concepts relate to each other in specific political and social contexts. We will examine both state-based constructions and popular responses to these dominant constructions. Throughout the course, we will focus on the politics of ascription, categorization, and exclusion, as well as the politics of collective meaning creation. We will address the following questions: How might these concepts shape the sense of belonging of individuals differently? How do certain contemporary processes such as immigration, transnationalism, and globalization, unsettle or alter the ways in which we may think about these concepts? Students will read articles from various disciplines such as Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, and History. Only letter grades A-E are given for this course.

Students dive into Colombia, virtually, and concentrate in a chosen SDG. Internet research, movies, and readings are required. Evaluation consists of a final research proposal to conduct field work in Colombia. Students design a research travel plan to study one SDG issue in a selected region or cities of Colombia. The curriculum includes COIL (Collaborative Online International/ Intercultural Learning) with universities and people in Colombia (Granada, Meta; Cali, Valle; Manizales, Caldas; Cartagena, Bolivar, San Andres Islands). It promotes Spanish/English Bilingual competencies but does not require Spanish proficiency. (Sustainability Focus)

This course will explore science fiction from around the world and in different time periods in order to grapple with questions such as how imagining the future can be a critique of the present or the past, why it seems unexpected that certain cultures or countries should produce science fiction, is there any room for scifi in the world of professional science and engineering, and how scifi can provide insight into intercultural contact and communication.

"Blue Earth" investigates the planet from an oceanic perspective. Oceans are flows of energy, water, and life. Our lives, our planet are the way they are because of these flows. Through the interdisciplinary study of global oceans and their flows, student will acquire a fundamentally different perspective on themselves and their world.

At the juncture of language, culture, and the history of conflict resolution, this multidisciplinary offering will familiarize students with an array of approaches to the chronicles of the success and failure of consensus decision-making. The status of the other, the role of language, the weight of beliefs, will be discussed in the fields of ethics, philosophy, law, and art, considering desire and sacrifice. Making plans, sharing perspectives, changing attitudes, monitoring progress, students will come together to better understand conflict and strategies for the building of consensus focusing on clear paths towards mutual understanding. Texts to be discussed span from The Magna Carta (1215) to recent chapters in the Israel-Hamas Conflict (2025).

This course invites you to examine two small islands which have had oversized impacts on the world. Both islands were subject to British colonialism and imperialism and had crucial struggles for national liberation. Both islands are recognized for their national pride, rich cultures and extensive migration networks. The course will use literature, film and historical texts to look at the similarities and differences between Jamaica and Ireland. There are numerous shared themes which include Colonization, Slavery, Discrimination, Resistance, Exploitation, Migration and National Liberation. This course will have significant (and lively!) class discussions and will improve your writing and research skills.

This is an interdisciplinary course that uses geography, ecology, history, art, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, and the biological sciences to examine what it means to become and be human. We will use studies in world prehistory to trace our shared human past from the emergence of human beings to the rise of ancient states and empires, with special attention to key developments such as the emergence of art, farming, urbanism and social complexity. Select ancient cultures from around the world are examined in-depth. Emphasis is placed on archaeology as anthropology and the relevance of archaeology to modern human society and politics. By the conclusion of the course, students will experience an extensive view of world prehistory.

This course examines the human ecology of imperialism since the late eighteenth century. Students will learn about the ways in which commodity economies in Europe's colonies shaped environments, the development of environmentalism on the frontiers of empire, and how the legacies of empire continue to shape the challenges of sustainability today.