Splash Biography

Do you like birds? Do you want to like birds? Have you ever seen a bird and wondered what it was? In any and all cases, this class is for you. We'll begin with a brief introduction to the most common birds of the Bay Area, go over some good birding (birdwatching) spots and other resources, then finish with a quick walk around central campus to see what we can see. Binoculars and cameras not required but encouraged.

Whether you've had to read Huck Finn for school, enjoy Twain's writings on your own time or have just heard the name somewhere before, this class is for you. Mark Twain is one of the most influential writers in American history, and one of the funniest. We'll go through his life history, reading excerpts from his many works to see why he remains so influential. To quote the author himself, "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished". Thanks to the generosity of the Mark Twain Project here on campus, I have a couple of free books to give away the day of; if you need a copy of Huck Finn, this is your chance!

Folklore is an incredibly broad subject, covering essentially any type of informal culture. We'll go over some of the main forms, including folktales and myths, and look at how these stories have been adapted over time. After this brief introduction, we'll head over to the UC Berkeley Folklore Archive to look at some examples, collected by Cal students for over 50 years.

This is a brief overview of codes throughout history. We will learn some of the more famous codes (including the Caesar cipher and other basic substitution ciphers), and spend time in class decoding encrypted messages.

This course would give a brief overview on the history and uses of codes and ciphers. It would also give students a chance to practice with some of the more basic codes, like the Caesar Cipher and substitution ciphers.