Is that my eye or my mind playing tricks on me? Optical illusions have long since been a hot topic of study among not only leading scientists, but also regular people just like you and me! In this class, students will examine the most commonly seen optical illusions types from physiological illusions, ambiguous illusions, paradoxical shapes, and more! Fun is guaranteed in musing out exactly how these interesting figures distort our perception.

As children, we have watched many happy-ending Disney fairy tales, but are these stories really as “happy” as they seem? In fact, there is a darker version to these stories: The Grimm Fairy Tales, written by the Grimm Brothers. In this class, we will study the different interpretations of fairy tales by rigorously analyzing selected stories (Cinderella, Snow White, the Little Mermaid, etc.) and films in class, focusing specifically on violence, and the social implications of the texts.