Some of the most important lessons are about uncovering the stories behind the facts.

They emerge through conversations that challenge assumptions, literature that reframes the present, artistic expression that crosses cultures and disciplines, and difficult questions that refuse easy answers. In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS), classrooms become places where students learn to examine the stories that shape societies and to think critically about the voices, values and experiences those stories reveal.

The courses the college offers reflect that breadth of inquiry. Students can discover how Shakespeare’s plays continue to influence political thought and how religion finds expression through popular music.

They can also examine the intersection of language and the natural world through ecopoetics, discover how puppetry has long been used to tell stories across cultures, and confront the human realities behind modern-day human trafficking.

To explore this year’s Human Factor Speakers Series theme, “Preserving Human Stories,” we asked the faculty behind these courses to share how their teaching connects to this idea. Their responses offer a preview of the conversations awaiting students inside the classroom.

Nathan Lean

Assistant Teaching Professor of Religious Studies
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Course: Religion and Popular Music in America, Spring 2027

This new course will invite students to listen for religious life where it often hides in plain sight — or, better, in sound. It is based on the idea that music preserves human stories, anchors cultural memory and communicates deep, lasting questions that, if not obviously religious, certainly move through religion’s terrain. From Muddy Waters to Bob Dylan, from the Beatles to Prince, from Taylor Swift to Beyoncé and beyond, students will encounter stories of faith, doubt, suffering, salvation and belonging. Built around the Sacred Soundscapes Lab, a proprietary collection of licensed recordings from the Smithsonian, along with other music, liner notes, concert footage and curated readings, this lecture course will introduce students to central questions in religious studies and to the extent to which religion is woven into this country’s soundscape.

Chelsea Krieg

Administrative Director, MFA in Creative Writing
Department of English
Course: Ecopoetry

As contemporary society becomes more divorced from the natural world, poets have turned their love of nature into activism. The term “ecopoetry” emerged in the 1960s, when poets incorporated more of this activism and ecocentrism into their work. In Ecopoetry, students from the University Honors Program grapple with society’s neglect for and celebration of the environment by examining ecopoetry from the 20th and 21st centuries as well as its roots in traditional nature poetry. “Eco” stems from the Greek root, oikos, meaning home. During this course, students examine their relationships to their environmental “oikos” or home, and they write their own ecopoems examining these relationships.

Maura Nsonwu

Professor
School of Social Work
Course: Human Trafficking

“What the hell have I gotten into?” Connie thought. “Everything is moving way too fast,” she sighed. Before her were three children: neglected, abused and trafficked by their own mother. Connie, a forensic child welfare investigator, usually handled broken bones and shaken babies, not human trafficking cases.

Connie’s story is one of six decision cases, factual situations practitioners encounter, used to teach students about human trafficking. Each case comes from interviews with a professional, often a social worker, law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or immigration attorney, capturing their lived experience. This distinctive methodology gives authentic voice to these human stories, letting readers think critically and broadly about this complex social problem.

Victoria Ralston

Associate Teaching Professor of Arts Studies Department of Integrative Humanities and Social Sciences
Course: The Art and History of World Puppetry

As an artist-designer and researcher, I investigate the intersections of material culture, ritual, history, and materials and processes through sculpture, animation and performance. My studio practice bridges traditional, handmade craftsmanship with cutting-edge technologies. A priority in my research is material performance or puppetry arts. This discipline integrates craft and theatrical performance to center the human story. I study world puppetry as a visual bridge between generations, translating mythology and community histories into tangible art that offers a universal language of expression. The Art and History of World Puppetry focuses on preserving human stories in today’s tech-driven world.

Anthony Solari  

Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science
School of Public and International Affairs
Course: Shakespeare and Politics

This course’s central idea is that Shakespeare possessed a deep understanding of human nature and politics, and that his work can still offer valuable insight into today’s political challenges. Shakespeare was a consummate observer of human nature. His plays reveal people at their highest and lowest: greed, ambition, and madness, but also altruism, loyalty, and courage. He understood that humans are fundamentally political creatures who pursue their highest ambitions through collective endeavors. In this sense, Shakespeare offers a powerful alternative to the sterile, AI-produced language of our digital world. His prose and poetry enchant us because they bear the unmistakable mark of a flesh-and-blood human being.